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Hardcover
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
ISBN13: 9780896726345
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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The long-intertwined communities of the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation and the bordering towns in Sheridan County, Nebraska, mark their histories in sensational incidents and quiet human connections, many recorded in detail here for the first time.
After covering racial unrest in the remote northwest corner of his home state of Nebraska in 1999, journalist Stew Magnuson returned four years later to consider the larger questions of its peoples, their paths, and the forces that separate them. Examining Raymond Yellow Thunder's death at the hands of four white men in 1972, Magnuson looks deep into the past that gave rise to the tragedy. Situating long-ranging repercussions within 130 years of context, he also recounts the largely forgotten struggles of American Indian Movement activist Bob Yellow Bird and tells the story of Whiteclay, Nebraska, the controversial border hamlet that continues to sell millions of cans of beer per year to the ''dry'' reservation.
Within this microcosm of cultural conflict, Magnuson explores the odds against community's power to transcend misunderstanding, alcoholism, prejudice, and violence.
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| Page Turning History |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This is a beautifully written book about an ugly part of US history. Namely, the nation's neglect and abuse of our native peoples. Most know about the Indian Wars in the 1800s. But Magnuson takes readers through those days to contemporary times.
I was drawn to this book by the Whiteclay controversy. (The tiny village on the Nebraska-Pine Ridge border that sells millions of cans of beer per year to the reservation.) It has a full, unbiased history of that town. But I learned so much more about the history of this neglected land.
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| Important history told in a refreshing way |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This isn't a stuffy academic book although the author seems to have sourced his material thoroughly in the End Notes.
I enjoyed the refreshing way he told these true stories of racial strife along the Nebraska-Pine Ridge, South Dakota border towns. it really reads like a novel or a series of connected short stories.
It really let me into a world I barely knew existed. It takes place in a remote corner of our nation, but I think there are lessons here for peoples everywhere. There are universal themes here. The devastating consequences of alcohol addiction is one. "The fear and misunderstanding runs both ways," Magnuson wrote. That's sadly true in so many places.
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| Thoughtful, enlightening look at an forgotten chapter in US history for most people |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Sometimes stories simply present themselves. Others need work to flush out. This one needed the work, and Stew Magnuson's exhaustive research brought this largely misrepresented and underreported history to light. Raymond Yellow Thunder serves as a catalyst for a historical review of white/Indian relations in Nebraska and the Sioux reservations. While not told in a strict, chronological fashion, the jumps in time take a moment to get used to, but once that is accomplished, the writing continually draws you in. In all, a well-written, informative and enlightening volume.
In his acknowledgements, the author said he wanted not to write an NY Times bestseller, but a book that people on both sides of the border would read. I hope they do.
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| Well written, thoroughly researched |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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A thought provoking, well researched book about the citizens of Sheridan County, Nebraska, and their neighbors to the north, the Ogala Lakotas of Pine Ridge, SD.
Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.
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| Two thumbs up from a former Gordonite |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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My family moved to Gordon in 1972 a week after Raymond Yellow Thunder's body was discovered in the Borman used car parking lot. My parents had been hired to manage the newly-built Gordon theatre. Those years promulgated unpleasant memories within me, yet I continued to live in Sheridan County for another thirty-one years.
Mr. Magnuson's account of the 130-year relationship between the Lakota and the Nebraska border towns was mesmerizing. A balanced account of the situation from both sides was presented; the accuracy of the information and detailed research was admirable.
The only minor flaw (omission) in the book that I noticed was the information concerning the "Billy Jack" movies of that time. The first Tom Laughlin/Delores Taylor movie, "The Born Losers" was released in 1969,"Billy Jack" was released in 1971,and the third movie of the series was "The Trial of Billy Jack," released in 1974. The way the information was presented was somewhat confusing; some people believe that "Billy Jack" was Laughlin's first "Billy Jack" movie
"The Trial of Billy Jack" played at the Gordon Theatre during February 1975. The Gordon theatre had several full-house nights; but one night the crowd began to chant "Yellow Thunder, Yellow Thunder" when the Blue Elk - Legion scene appeared. A gentleman came out to the theatre lobby, called my father a "white honky" and took a swing at him trying to incite a fight. After that night, my parents decided not to show the film anymore (which may have helped the Chadron Theatre mentioned on p. 221). Packed houses or not, the animosity in the air was not worth the box office revenue. I would have liked to have read this in the book.
"The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder" provides an accurate depiction of the "traditionalist" versus "progressive" power struggle on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation that continues today. The book also uncovers the existing ignorance that continues to exist in some Sheridan County residents.
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