The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge: A Lakota Odyssey

From the perspective of two generations of Dull Knifes (Guy Sr. and Jr.) the reader is given a 5-generation perspective on just about every important challenge faced by the Lakota/Oglala Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. There is more impact in reading this story than from reading a history book because these are real people telling their real stories which keeps within the Indian tradition of oral history. Most important, is the theme of resistance/persistence which runs throughout this history into the present day, emphasized by the obvious - 5 generations of Dull Knifes and still going. Highly recommended.

An engaging story of one family of the Lakota (Sioux) from the time the treaty was signed creating Indian reservations to the present. In each generation one or more of the family members are presented in reasonable detail. See the hopes, challenges, and triumphs of each generation and get to know and love them as they attempt to hold onto important aspects of their native culture while they step into modern life with mixed successes. You'll gain an appreciation of the dedicated military service many Indians have given the U.S., and perhaps you'll twitch uncomfortably or maybe grin at the soldier who collected ears from his battlefield conquests. In total I gained a new respect of the Lakota.

The Dull Knives of Pine Ridge tells the story of a Native American family and how they have been percicuted by the white man for centuries and their strugle to keep their culture alive. It shows how they were thrown off their most sacred land, the Black Hills, and their fight to keep get it back. Unlike many books The Dull Knives of Pine Ridge does not have the problem showing just how brutal the settlers and the United States Government was to the Indian. For people that want to learn about the struggles of a Native American family and what a bad deal they have recieved in U.S. history this is the book for you.

This book had me glued to it's pages .I was raised by a Lakota and this book reflects on the state of native americans in this country today and backs it up with the history to explain why.A must read if you want to "get inside" what has REALLY happened in this country to a race of people who almost were completely exterminated because of their advanced social ideals colliding with the morally bankrupt european "civilization" which at the time was barely out of the dark ages so much so in fact that when the colonists revolted they spouted Iroquois political ideals which were and still are more advanced than any idea the european mind has ever had .

I had just come back from the Veterans Powwow at the Pine Ridge Reservation and because of the fantastic treatment I received there decided to read up on the Oglala Lakota Sioux, after all the amount I knew about the Oglala could be fit in a thimble. From the minute I picked up the Dull Knifes book I was hooked. The book flows as will the tears. You will find out about the Wounded Knee Massacre and the way the Oglala were treated by the whites and the government.And this all done with dignity, no crying or griping done. You will see how this fine AMERICAN family perservered. You will find out about the Northern Cheyenne as well as the Oglala. I can only say, if you can read and have a heart this book will touch it. And thats from a mixed blood Mi'kmaq.