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BOOK REVIEW HITCHCOCK in and including the Custer battle at Little Big Horn. The second area is the social and cultural life of the Indians and their relationship with the white world. The third area is the circus which arose after the last of the Indian wars and known to American history as "The Wild West Show." The nature of Indian warfare was much different than what was the Europeans. Though a serious business to be sure it was also a bit of a game. This is particularly true of inter-tribal warfare. The only time the Indian would fight another in genuine war was generally over the question of infringement of land or territory rights. What occurred the rest of the time really was on the level of hostile gamesmanship. It was considered more worthy to steal a man's horse while he slept than to kill him. In battle it was a higher honor to tap a man on the shoulder with a coup stick than to kill or wound him. With the coming of the white man there was a considerable change in attitude about all of this. Along with the plates on the Battle of the Little Big Horn there is also an interesting series on the massacre at Wounded Knee. Bad Heart Bull shows the encampment of Indian completely surrounded by five rings of soldiers, three on horseback. It also shows the battle in progress and the death of Big Foot. These selections would make a fascinating companion to Dee Brown's recent book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. After an examination of this part of the text it is not hard to see why some say Mylai was not a first for the American Army. What occurred at Wounded Knee was not unlike what happened in World War II when the Nazis destroyed a whole Czech village in a single day. The text also includes the assassination of Sitting Bull just prior to the Battle of Wounded Knee. Though history has discouraged the fact, it is clear from this text that terrorism and slaughter continued overtly against the Oglala into the early part of this century. The book is rich with examples of Indian culture and social life as practiced by the Oglala. One ceremony of particular interest was that of the "Hunka." It seems to have no real counterpart in western culture. It was, in short, the formalization of a relationship between two people that was deeper than either family or friendship. Other selections discuss the games played and their strong influence of war and hunting skills, the role of women, children and non-warrior makes. There is much emphasis on the dance and its symbolic meaning to the Oglala. Of particular interest in this area is the rise of the "Ghost Dance" and what it meant to the Indian. Basically it was a religious rite coming out of the late 1880's. It was a bit of conglomeration 81
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Reopened for Editing 2024-02-21 21:11:01
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Reopened for Editing 2024-02-22 07:04:01
Pulled "glomeration" from the next page to finish the partial ending word of con- as described in instructions.