Brown, D. (1970). Bury my heart at wounded knee. New York City: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

OVERVIEW

This narrative offers quotes and pictures of the struggle and battles involving settlers and Native Americans from 1860 to 1890. The purpose is to tell history as seen through the eyes of victims, not to give a glorified account of the taming of the "wild west." Instead it is a story of greed, impatience, violence, and corruption.

Nineteen chapters recount a story of America’s intruders forcing themselves, their culture, and their own ideals on a people who only wanted to be left alone. Battles, treaties, and broken promises are described truthfully, brutally, and graphically.

Whose voice was first sounded on this land? The voice of the red people who had but bows and arrows...What has been done in my country I did not want, did not ask for it. White people going through my country...When the white man comes in my country, he leaves a trail of blood behind him...I have two mountains in that country—The Black Hills and the Big Horn Mountain. I want the Great Father to make no roads through them. I have told these things three times. Now I have come here to tell them the fourth time.
—Mahpiua Luta (Red Cloud) of the Oglala Sioux

They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it.
—Red Cloud

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Who else is missing from American history books? Are women, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics fairly reflected in American history? What other groups have been misrepresented?
2. What is the significance of remembering history as it truly happened?
3. What does this tell you about racism?

IMPLICATIONS

1. It is a challenge to think that one often imposes his or her culture as infallible. Look at the seemingly innocent children’s rhymes and games and ask, "Do they reflect American society’s ignorance and prejudice?"
2. When reading Red Cloud’s statement that the only promise settlers kept was taking their (Native American) land, what does this say to the common phrase "Indian giver"? "Indian giver" is used to describe someone who gives something and then takes it back. The label is misnamed, as it was the colonists who were the "Indian givers."
3. One should consider other subtleties that creep into language subcultures and are based on erroneous assumptions or discriminations. Using the youth culture, one can study what groups of people in the schools are discriminated against by the majority. Awareness, understanding, and appreciation of others need to be learned, taught, and modeled.
4. America has been impoverished by leaving out truthful stories of minorities. White heritage should not cloud the view of America or the rest of the world. People should be willing to accept others as they are.

Jayne B. Farrington and Anne Montague cCYS