Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

it's true. more people should acknowledge that

Wonderfully written, general history of Native American/ Indiana history in what is now the United States of America. Each paragraph is packed with information and details- not a light read. But so intriguing and leaves me wanting to learn much more!

I read this book quite a few years ago, but up until that time I looked at George Armstrong Custer as an American hero. After reading this book I realized what he really was...a mass murderer! This book will break your heart, and possibly bring you to tears, but it is a great read. It tells the history we were all taught in school from the other side, the side no one wanted us to know as children. Read this book and you'll agree with me. True american history, with no punches pulled.

If you're looking for a narrative of the struggles between the various native tribes of North America and european settlers, there probably isn't a better place to go.I read this book on my way to Wounded Knee this summer. There was so much I didn't know about the expansion of the United States (and much I still don't know, I'm sure) that my mouth gaped with horror throughout every chapter. The account of how the very laid back friendly tribes of California were mowed down by settlers without a second thought was particularly chilling. As the book itself says, no one remembers these tribes of California because they didn't put up a fight. They were simply swept aside.Reading this book also filled gaps in the stories I had heard: Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, The Trail of Tears, the Lakota Uprising, Little Big Horn and of course Wounded Knee. All of these and other stories you probably haven't heard before are put together in chronological order. It is a very comprehensive and readable book, but it does tell of an unreconcilable tragedy.When I finished this book, one day before arriving at Wounded Knee, I was overcome with the feeling that europeans can never make up for what they did to the people who were here before them. What happened is forever unreconcilable. But self-flagellation and reproach will not undo anything, nor help either side as they currently stand. What most european descendants can do is read this book to know what happened, and then visit Wounded Knee to see where it all ended and observe. Only then will one be on the road to understanding, as inevitably incomplete as that understanding must be and remain.

As I read this book of unimaginable hardship for the American Indians, my very soul was pained. For it offers the most truthful history of the removal of the Indians from THEIR homeland I have ever read. My heart aches with the knowledge that my anscestors lived both sides of the war mentioned in this book. My blood is thick with Irish and Cherokee...ironic, isn't it? I, as so many others I am sure, feel torn by the horror that the first Americans had to endure at the hands of those who set up colonies here. This is the first book I have read that tells the story from the view of the Natives instead of the white man. I am proud of my Native American heritage, therefore, I feel that this book is of ultimate importance to those of us who yearn for understanding. While I am hurt and somewhat angered by the history, it is imperitive that I learn both sides of this story. Unfortunately, the only history offered in school is one-sided, thus, imperfect. Let us all long to hear the songs of the first true Americans...The Native American Indians. When you have read this book in its entirety, your understanding will be opened. If we had only listened to "those savages" our respect for the land would be great and our natural resources wouldn't be at risk today. Be prepared to feel the emotions of a multitude; raped, murdered, starved, enslaved and stripped of dignity. This book is definitely one that should hold a prestigious place in every library in America!