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A review by kairosdreaming
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown
4.0
Much of what we learn in history class, is a very filtered history. Especially when it comes to the things that don't paint us in such a good light. The things that make us question whether we're the 'good' guys (spoiler alert, we're not). Manifest Destiny, Trail of Tears; these are things briefly touched upon and largely ignored in favor of the Civil War and other such battles in history. We slaughtered a nation.
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee is a detailed history of the forced relocation, massacre, and other such atrocities brought to the tribes that once called much of America home. As space grew sparse in the East, settlers, miners, explorers all started moving westward. Of course the people living there were expected to move away for their convenience. And when they didn't want to leave their homes, well, I'm sure you know what comes next. It can essentially be summed up as treaties made, treaties broken, tribes forced to move yet again, tribes massacred if they don't comply.
The book itself is told in a very factual way, with still a lot of compassion for what actually happened. The author used leader's quotes themselves quite often and seemed to do their best to convey the atrocities as they should be; an absolute dark mark on our history. Each chapter starts with facts about the year it conveys, and is usually centered on a particular tribe and its leaders, and the inevitable sad event that happens. Even though this was published decades ago, it's still very relevant (although some of the terminology is decidedly outdated).
It's demoralizing, sad, and exhausting to hear just how often they were betrayed. But it's also important to read. If these events keep getting ignored in history, it only serves that we won't learn how to do better. We need to acknowledge all parts of history, not just the parts that make us feel important.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee is a detailed history of the forced relocation, massacre, and other such atrocities brought to the tribes that once called much of America home. As space grew sparse in the East, settlers, miners, explorers all started moving westward. Of course the people living there were expected to move away for their convenience. And when they didn't want to leave their homes, well, I'm sure you know what comes next. It can essentially be summed up as treaties made, treaties broken, tribes forced to move yet again, tribes massacred if they don't comply.
The book itself is told in a very factual way, with still a lot of compassion for what actually happened. The author used leader's quotes themselves quite often and seemed to do their best to convey the atrocities as they should be; an absolute dark mark on our history. Each chapter starts with facts about the year it conveys, and is usually centered on a particular tribe and its leaders, and the inevitable sad event that happens. Even though this was published decades ago, it's still very relevant (although some of the terminology is decidedly outdated).
It's demoralizing, sad, and exhausting to hear just how often they were betrayed. But it's also important to read. If these events keep getting ignored in history, it only serves that we won't learn how to do better. We need to acknowledge all parts of history, not just the parts that make us feel important.
Review by M. Reynard 2020