Day Fifty-Nine

5/30

The Book: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

ISBN: 0-8050-6669-1

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 2:30-3:20P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 13- 68 (55)

The Lead In: I never watched the HBO series on this book, though to be honest I saw maybe 30 minutes one time. It looked good and this book seems interesting. The first chapter (read last night to finish off the 55 of the day) detailed the pushing of the Native people back from their land into the reservations. I think this book might depress me (as a white male), but history (and the truth) is never something to fear.

The 411 on the 55: Chapter two begins the story of the Navahos in New Mexico. I will not get into all the ins and outs as I would end up writing a book. Needless to say, white people abused the trust of the Navahos endlessly. I found it interesting that so many of the Navaho chiefs had Spanish names: Manuelito, Delgadio, Barboncito, etc.

Kit Carson, initially reluctant to fight the Natives (due to his close associations), finally began working for the U.S. government and used a scorched earth policy, similar to Sherman’s in the South. By eliminating their food supply, the army began to starve them out. As they began to surrender in droves, the attacks by the army were actually ratcheted up to ensure domination. Carson’s biggest insult as far as the Navahos were concerned was not his fighting and killing their people, but his cutting down of their prized peach orchards.

Though many of the holdouts had surrendered, Manuelito began to hear stories about the conditions on the reservations. People were dying and starving. They were abused by soldiers. He, along with his men, decided not to surrender. Of course, as the last holdout, the army wanted him even more. And after holdout until he was down to 23 men, he finally surrendered. The year after his surrender a new superintendent was put over the reservation and was appalled at the conditions there. Interestingly enough, the man who gave them the best advice (as far as the Navahos were concerned) was Sherman himself. Sherman sent them back to their land, making the whole ordeal a waste of life and time.

I will not tell every story that I read from this book, so maybe each day I will focus on story a day. I am struck from the other stories read today that Lincoln actually stayed the execution of some 300 Native Am

ericans in Minnesota, much to the chagrin of his generals there. 

Line of the Day: “I was born there. I shall remain. I have nothing to lose by my life, and that they can come and take whenever they please, but I will not move. I have never done any wrong to the Americans or the Mexicans. I have never robbed. If I am killed, innocent blood will be shed.” pg 32

The Fact on the Fiction: Manuelito, as he was known to the white man, was Ashkii Diyinii, Holy Boy, to his own people, later to earn the name Haastin Chil Haajin, or Sir Black Reeds, named for 'the place among the black reeds'. Wikipedia