The Great Sioux nation: Sitting in judgement on America : based on and containing testimony heard at the "Sioux treaty hearing" held December, 1974, in Federal District Court, Lincoln, Nebraska

by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

“If the moral issues raised by the Sioux people in the federal courtroom that cold month of December 1974 spark a recognition among the readers of a common destiny of humanity over and above the rules and regulations, the codes and statutes, and the power of the establishment to enforce its will, then the sacrifice of the Sioux people will not have been in vain.”—Vine Deloria Jr.The Great Sioux Sitting in Judgment on America is the story of the Sioux Nation’s fight to regain its land and sovereignty, highlighting the events of 1973–74, including the protest at Wounded Knee. It features pieces by some of the most prominent scholars and Indian activists of the twentieth century, including Vine Deloria Jr., Simon Ortiz, Dennis Banks, Father Peter J. Powell, Russell Means, Raymond DeMallie, and Henry Crow Dog. It also features primary documents and firsthand accounts of the activists’ work and of the trial.New to this Bison Books edition is a foreword by Philip J. Deloria and an introduction by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, History, Native American History, Native Americans

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1977

About the author

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma in a tenant farming family. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than 4 decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz is the winner of the 2017 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize, and is the author or editor of many books, including An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, a recipient of the 2015 American Book Award. She lives in San Francisco. Connect with her at reddirtsite.com or on Twitter @rdunbaro.

Reviews

[MonkeyBusiness · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I need to own and reread. It is a 1st person comprehensive collection of Native American narrative on the relationship between US government and native peoples.