One Book
One Nebraska
About the Book . . .
Crazy Horse, legendary military leader of the Oglala Sioux whose personal power and nonconformity set him off as “strange,” fought in many famous battles, including the Little Bighorn. He held out tirelessly against the U.S. government’s efforts to confine the Lakotas to reservations. Finally, in the spring of 1877 he surrendered, only to meet a violent death. More than a century later, Crazy Horse continues to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of his people. More than a description of the life of an individual, Crazy Horse is an in-depth look at the culture and spirituality of the Oglala Sioux.
Mari Sandoz’ work blends an understanding of our common history with an appreciation of our region’s cultural diversity and the reading of Crazy Horse provides a common ground for Nebraska citizens to come together to learn about and discuss Native-American culture, plains history, and contemporary issues. Published in 1942, Crazy Horse is one of the best-known books written by Sandoz.
Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) Nebraska author, historian, and member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame’s Hall of Great Westerners, was one of the most outspoken advocates for fair treatment of Native-Americans and for the documentation of our Plains heritage. Sandoz worked to shed light on the challenges native people faced in the wake of the expansion of a growing American nation. Other books by Sandoz include Cheyenne Autumn, Old Jules, and The Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux) (1933 - 2005) was the author of more than twenty books, including Custer Died for Your Sins, Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties, and God Is Red. He was executive director of the National Congress of American Indians in 1964. He was a founding trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian when it consisted of the Gustav Heye collection in New York City and helped guide its sale to the Smithsonian Institution. He was a major thinker for the movements for sacred land protection, for treaty rights and for the protection and repatriation of Indian remains.
"Writing from an Indian point of view and in Indian language patterns . . . Sandoz displayed an exquisite sensitivity to the spiritual and cultural impact of landscape and topography, and intensely conveyed the emotional, psychological, and religious universe of the Plains Indians. . . . That sensitivity makes this, the most accomplished biography of Crazy Horse and one of the best and most moving books ever written about the American West, a strange, often unsettling work."—Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly.
“[One] of the great stories of the West, and written . . . in the spirit of the sages, with scrupulous regard for truth and history.”—Atlantic Monthly.
“The glorious hero tale told with beauty and power . . . The story of a great American.”—John G. Neihardt, New York Times.
“This history of the Oglala Indian Crazy Horse is a splendidly done thing. [Sandoz] gives a magnificent picture of the Plains Indian civilization.”—Washington Star.
“First published in 1942, is thorough, scrupulous in its accuracy and written in a style that propels the narrative.”--Martin Naparsteck, Salt Lake Tribune
Information compiled from:
University of Nebraska Press
Indian Country Today – Vine Deloria Jr. passes after a life of seminal work – by Jim Adams, November 14, 2005
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096411932
