Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Winter 1998
Citation
Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 1998, pp. 59-60.
Abstract
The occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973 by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and Lakota supporters and their seventy-one day standoff against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pine Ridge Reservation police provides a rich medium to study social movements, tribal politics, and federal policy. Its complexity, controversial nature, and relative temporal proximity have contributed to the "second Wounded Knee" receiving less attention than it deserves. In Wounded Knee II, Rolland Dewing has provided a serviceable foray into the event’s complexities. Dewing, Professor of History at Chadron State College in Nebraska, long-time resident of the Pine Ridge area, and founder of the Great Plains Network, draws heavily upon his earlier work, Wounded Knee: The Meaning and Significance of the Second Incident, for this new volume. He also relies extensively on some twenty-five thousand pages of FBI file material obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, as well as interviews with participants, and newspaper reports.
Dewing begins with a sweeping survey of Lakota history from the eighteenth century through the early 1970s in the first chapter. He devotes the next seven chapters to examining AIM's foundations, events that led to the Wounded Knee occupation, the occupation itself, and its resolution. These chapters are the book's heart and soul, providing an extraordinarily detailed account of the standoff. In the closing chapter-the best-written in the book-Dewing follows the careers of principal players through the 1980s and concludes that although AIM's future looks dim, it played a significant role in promoting positive change for some of America's indigenous peoples.
Readers familiar with Dewing's first outing will find helpful additions in his new work. Maps of the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Wounded Knee community help the reader understand the events, and the author has included an extensive and helpful bibliography. Overall, however, Wounded Knee II rates low on readability. The book lacks a strong thesis and Dewing's dense prose and love of minutiae frequently hinder the reader. Poor editing has also left many errors, sometimes several to a page. Those studying the 1973 occupation will find Dewing's diligent research valuable and should consult this book for his sympathetic take on the federal position. Those with a casual interest will find greater rewards elsewhere.
Comments
Copyright 1998 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln