My People the Sioux

by Luther Standing Bear, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Introduction)

When it was first published in 1928, Luther Standing Bear's autobiographical account of his tribe and tribesmen was hailed by Van Wyck Brooks as “one of the most engaging and veracious we have ever had.” It remains a landmark in Indian literature, among the first books about Indians written from the Indian point of view by an Indian. Born in the 1860s, the son of a Lakota chief, Standing Bear was in the first class at Carlisle Indian School, witnessed the Ghost Dance uprising from the Pine Ridge Reservation, toured Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and devoted his later years to the Indian rights movement of the 1920s and 1930s.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, Memoir, Indigenous, Biography, Classics

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Luther Standing Bear (Ota Kte, "Plenty Kill" or "Mochunozhin") was an Oglala Lakota chief notable in American history as an Native American author, educator, philosopher, and actor of the twentieth century.

Reviews

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luther Standing Bear is a member of the Sioux people. In this book he describes, to the white man, the culture and costomes of his people. It is a very warm and inviting book. I highly recommend this book.

[Debbie Wentworth Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luther Standing Bear's autobiography gives a look at the life of an Ogalala Sioux growing up on the Great Plains in the late 19th century through the colossal changes that came as his people settled on the reservations. Standing Bear was of the last generation to live freely, was one of the first to enter the Carlisle School for Indians, to travel to Europe with Buffalo Bill, and to become a full U.S. citizen, as well as work in movies.

Although I found the first couple of chapters about his childhood a little slow, the story, on the whole, was fascinating. This was a man who accepted drastic changes and worked to make the best of it, not only for himself, but for his people. His faith in God was a pleasant surprise. Being so accustomed to the politically correct "Native American," I found his referring to his people as "Indians" rather refreshing, and his constant concern in doing the right thing for his people admirable. Also, I admired his reverence for and desire to please his father, whether it meant chasing the buffalo, going thousands of miles away from home to school, or laying down his life.

Reading about the lives of people who came before us and who overcame problems has benefitted me over the years. I would especially recommend this book to younger people so that they can develop an understanding of how real people have overcome great difficulties in the past. Luther Standing Bear was a man of courage, integrity, and resilience, an admirable human being, and a good example for us all.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Between these covers is the true history of my own people as I have lived my life among them.” So states Standing Bear in this essential source for 19th Century Lakota life and their transition into 20th Century assimilation. The book starts out with technical descriptions of tribal skills, ceremonies, games, etc. At this point the book is a fascinating but dry how-to guide. These descriptions alone make the book invaluable to cultural preservation, but the more engaging reading commences when Standing Bear shifts to autobiography and uses his own representative life as a microcosm for his tribe. Standing Bear's memories span buffalo hunts, war parties, Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee, the Carlisle Indian School, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Naturally, heartbreak and horror thread their way through the narrative, but Standing Bear was raised not to complain, and he seems more comfortable making the reader laugh with many funny stories of mischief and mishap. As he relates his own experiences, fascinating details about Sioux culture emerge almost incidentally. For example, in reading about Standing Bear's marriage, we white men gain yet another reason to secretly wish we were all Sioux warriors: “You must understand that among my people a mother-in-law is never permitted to say a word to her son-in-law, nor even to look at him.”

Standing Bear was a proud, traditional Sioux, but he was also an assimilationist, and his attitudes have perhaps fallen out of fashion. But it would be a shame if this book were to be sidelined from its rightful place as a primary source. One of the issues he addresses is still contemporary: “fee patent,” the ability of Native Americans to sell their land allotments, is still a hot topic among those who believe that restrictions preventing sale are relics that keep Indians locked into second class citizenship. Standing Bear was the first of his tribe to travel to Washington and secure his fee patent: “You have been taking care of my property all these years and I have received no benefit from it. I want to take care of my own property, like any other man... Now, I want you gentlemen to give me my freedom. If you refuse, I will go to Congress and ask them for my citizenship.” Obtaining the right to sell his land was, for Standing Bear, as monumental as being elevated to Chief.

I'm not sure how many first person (hey, double meaning!) accounts of 19th Century Indian life exist, but it would seem that each and every one is invaluable. This one is to be cherished and will hopefully remain in print for many more moons.

[M Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another of those books that was incredibly important in its time that has faded from view. As "one of the first books about Indians written from the Indian point of view by an Indian," it retains an important place in Native American literature. But while ultimately engaging, it lacks a certain spark and has long passages that are now of little interest to any but the anthropologist or the historical recreationist.

Luther Standing Bear or Plenty Kill, as he was known to his people, was a young boy at the time of the Custer defeat and related to Crazy Horse. He was part of the first class at the Carlisle Indian School (mostly remembered now for their famous athletic alumni, Jim Thorpe) and rose in both Sioux and Euro-American culture. Well-educated, industrious and brave, his was a life full of varied incident, adventure, victory and sorrow.

Had this book been strictly an autobiography, it might now be easier to read for a general audience. What makes it so important to the anthropologist is the several long sections (particularly at the beginning) detailing Sioux life on the plains. Standing Bear probably gives enough detail to allow careful recreation of many of the aspects of the Plains lifestyle but it is rather tedious reading for those not interested in such things.

The book livens up considerable when "Plenty Kill" begins to relate his own life experiences. The only drawback is his writing style. Whether it is simply a function of his times or perhaps an artifact of English being his second language, the style is a bit wooden and understated. It could be described as "Mark Twain without the humor." Indeed, Luther Standing Bear seems in his own account to have been a very upright and earnest person. There is a sweetness and innocence about his reflections that can only have come from a man with a pure heart.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an eye-opening look into the history of the Sioux people during the time when their world was changing from the traditional to the colonized. While Luther Standing Bear speaks in favor of assimilation (to an extent) into the white man's world, near the end of this book you can also see his plea start to take shape—he spells it out at the very end, but the gist of it is that he wants his people and the white people to both work for a good and just outcome (which sadly has yet to properly arrive, a century later). I found the early portion of the book easier to read, because it was more story-like about his boyhood on the prairie, while the second half starts to signal the message. And yet, the second half of the book is at least as important as the first half, and reminds us that while we may feel like we've taken big steps forward, there is still a long way to go.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting history

I greatly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Hearing Luther Standing Bears’ accounts of his time as a Sioux Indian was very intriguing. I am looking forward to doing a little bit more research about him. So many terrible things are coming out about Christian schools for Native Americans and that did not seem to be his experience.

[Teresa Giglio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a truly amazing and educational book, I'm giving it four stars and not five because I can't recommend it across the board. While it's an extremely valuable resource, this book is controversial and may really upset some people. So I have to take off a star for that.

Within the text itself he mentions multiple times that his opinion is so unpopular that other Indians want to kill him for it. He's a big fan of the Carlisle School, for a specific example. He proclaims the Oglala Sioux the "Best Indian Tribe," for another example of opinions that may not sit well with everybody. He does use the phrase "squaw men" here, to describe white men who are married to Indian women. I've never heard any Native person use the S word in real life.

The story begins with Luther growing up in a tipi village. The first few chapters are anthropologically priceless. He describes in great detail many aspects of traditional Sioux culture that would be hard for me to learn elsewhere. He discusses things like exactly how to construct a tipi, how to live in a tipi in different kinds of weather, how to move a tipi, and how people were considered wealthy or poor based on their ability to move tipi poles of varying sizes. Truly in-depth and a blessing to read. You can smell the smoke from the campfire.

Importantly, he explains about their naming conventions and other cultural values. He discusses a lot of different specific individuals and anecdotes about their lives. It takes quite a while to digest this book if you are to actually think about it, which is what I recommend. I like to tackle these classic books, which are sitting there for free in my Amazon Prime membership, because I'm stunned that such resources exist for the taking. I feel so spoiled at the amount of information languishing untouched in my tablet. One person from this nomadic culture went to a ton of trouble to learn to read and write, and he wrote this book. I feel blessed and lucky.

He also describes everything about their food, and their traditional games, which were gender-segregated. I wasn't always able to visualize what he was describing, because many of the traditional games used, for example, animal bones that I'm not familiar with.

All of that is a priceless cultural resource. And there is much, much more scattered throughout the book, in terms of understanding the general way of things in the Sioux culture. He describes many different incidents, large and small, that show how a variety of different people responded to all kinds of things, and why.

Some of that makes this book a very slow and uneven read. The biggest issue I had with this book was the "grandpa factor." Grandpa tells his stories his own way, you know. They may be stretched out, exaggerated, or lean in one direction or the other. I truly appreciate that he took the time to share all of this information. I took him with a grain of salt. I'm giving the book a 4. I cannot give it a 5 because people may be offended as I explained above.

I notice that Standing Bear is a very competitive guy. Had he lived to see YouTube, he would be the one commenting "First!" on every video.

The much bigger problem, though, is his relationship to "white" culture and the Carlisle School in particular. For me as a white person whose family immigrated more recently, it's cringe for me to be lumped in with the white people we also assimilated to. Because for one thing, I don't share Standing Bear's fascination with their culture. And it pains me, the conflict of the time he lived in, and how he processed the racism. I will be grappling with understanding his personal process for a long time. I don't exactly get him. I truly don't. I don't get what he sees in those people, Captain Pratt and Mr. Wanamaker. They sound like bad, hypocritical people to me.

Standing Bear was raised by his father, a Chief. His father taught him as a small child not to kill white people -- not because he was such a great fan of them (I don't include myself because I've never been among the white people he describes, the "kill the Indian, save the man" Anglo-Saxon Protestants). Standing Bear was taught not to kill white people because they were weaker and inferior to Indians. It's the same way, in my Italian-American culture, men are taught not to hit or kill women, that it's emasculating. It makes you a punk.

I think that's accurate. The Sioux that he describes are holistically more-robust human beings than the soldiers who ran entire buffalo herds off of cliffs and then left the carcasses to rot. Those people were greedy, short-sighted idiots in my opinion. The more I learn about "how the West was won," the sicker it makes me. None of that was necessary, or even justifiable. That's why we can't have nice things in this country, because of the way we started out.

So it's psychologically gruelling to read about different people, the Ghost Dancers in particular, having to live through this invasion, especially as it's described by someone who very willingly participated in "going with the flow" when he saw the white people coming in like flies, or ants. I forget which way his father described the white people after visiting the cities back East. But it's so weird to me, the way Standing Bear then spends the rest of the book trying to prove himself to the same white people that his father always taught him to look down on. Because Standing Bear himself was very interested in those things of the inferior people. So was his father.

On the one hand, there was the matter of pragmatism, the need to keep up with the changing times. It sounds like from his father's vantage point, it was simply a matter of accepting that the garden had fallen, the old ways were no longer to be a thing, and we were to put clothes on now. I think that was the most poetic thing Standing Bear said. And he did have some good insights.

But his beloved Captain Pratt, founder of the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania, to which Standing Bear volunteered to go as a youth of maybe 12, was a bad person IMO. And Standing Bear thought the world of him. Pratt became another father figure at this boarding school. He chose the name Luther at this school, having no idea what it meant or how to say it. Pratt put him into tinsmithing school. While Pratt says it was always the child's choice what they would learn, Standing Bear describes wanting to go into carpentry, a much more useful skill, and Pratt telling him no.

Standing Bear describes his group of children coming to a school that did not have beds for them. He says that all of the children were there voluntarily. However even though he was the school's biggest cheerleader, he describes having to connive to get enough food, being cold, and watching other children die. All of the children wanted to go back to the reservation and jumped at the chance, according to Standing Bear, who "loved it" there. I've personally never met an Indian who had a good word to say about a boarding school.

Standing Bear describes a girl's father sending word that he was furious to learn she had died. He demanded that they either return her body or place a headstone at the school. And neither thing was done. He says that the Indians were treated very unfairly. And then he continues on unphased, as though that shouldn't be held against Captain Pratt somehow. 168 children died at the Carlisle school of disease and malnutrition. 10,000 children attended overall. I'm really surprised more of them didn't die, based on Luther's description. This is one of the most shameful chapters of America's history.

Pratt's whole concept was "Kill the Indian, save the man." I'm horrified by both the words and the intention of that. But for Standing Bear personally, in his own context, it made sense. His father had sent him off to die in battle literally. And here he was in Pennsylvania, possibly dying physically. But being made to die culturally instead, learning to read and write English, being in the first class at the Carlisle School, proving himself to his father Spotted Pony and also Captain Pratt, all at the same time.

There's much more to this book. It really helped me to process my own family's immigration and assimilation, and my assimilation with Anglo-Saxon Protestant America and Native America as well. I highly recommend honoring this person who really put so much work and effort into creating this book, against all odds. A true blessing.

Standing Bear's weird relationship with white people, his arrival at the Carlisle School, evolved naturally out of his relationship with his father, a chief. It was important to Standing Bear to prove himself to his father by dying in battle. And within their culture, he was expected to ride off into the sunset and do that as a young adolescent.

During Luther's childhood, "manifest destiny" wasn't necessarily understood yet, in the tipi villages of Nebraska or the Dakotas. As Standing Bear's father went east and saw the white people multiplying like flies in the big cities, he was of two minds. On the one hand, he saw that it was inevitable and felt that the Indians should get with the program, the quicker the better. And on the other hand, he liked dressing like a white man.

Standing Bear's father opens a store like the white men had, and became even more prosperous than he was in the nomadic way of being prosperous -- with a larger tipi, because he had more ponies to carry larger poles and more gear for his two wives and more children.

Another point to address: at times Standing Bear describes the status of women as being somewhere between horses and men. He frequently mentions how, when breaking camp in a tipi village, everyone simply knew their roles and responsibilities and did what was needed without being nagged or ordered around. And I'm sure that was the case. That concept is the #1 selling point of their lifestyle IMHO. He describes many other beautiful things that I have personally experienced among Native people too, their humility, kindness, gentleness, and generosity. And also the constant gambling LOL Keeping it real, I'm not mad.

But he describes his parents' divorce when he is a small boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old. While it is the most painless breakup that's ever happened from a child-custody standpoint, I was left with hundreds of questions.

Standing Bear describes his mother going off to her mother's people's village some ways away. And then she just doesn't come back, and her brother comes to bring him to visit her over there. And when Standing Bear comes back to his father's tent, his father has two new wives.

So did his father send his old wife away because he wanted to upgrade to these two other women, DJT style? He told her it was Sister Wives time and she was like, no thanks, I'm going to my mother? Either way it doesn't seem coincidental, timing-wise, or like his mother had much say in the matter, although Luther felt like it was all hunky-dory.

Later in the book he describes a man chasing a woman and firing a gun at her. Some other men catch him and take away the gun. It's discovered that the woman is his wife. He's trying to kill her because she wants to leave him for another man. They have a meeting of the chiefs. It's decided that she will go back to her husband because he's a good guy after all -- the one who just chased her into the village trying to shoot her. So she goes back to him and realizes that was the right thing to do after all. For me as a writer of true crime for survivors, fuck that.

There are a number of similar things in the book. While working for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in London, at one point Luther decides to withhold half of everybody's pay until the end of the show, paying them in one lump sum. This is meant to keep them sober. He assures the reader that he is perfectly honest and all of the performers know they will get every penny that's owed to them. And at the end, everyone was happy with the decision to have their pay arbitrarily withheld, because Standing Bear knew what was best for them after all and did the right thing always. It says so in the book.

I will never understand how he could be so fond of the Carlisle School after all that he saw in his life, so pro-America in general after Wounded Knee as he described it in this book.

Again, this is a book that could really upset people. But I found it highly educational. I am amazed at the amount of leadership and work ethic that Standing Bear had to put into his life to create this book, go through all of the different things that he described. While I don't necessarily always understand him, I am grateful for this book.

[tina m gervasio quisito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Biography,pertinent today as when it was written

An encompassing tale of the life of an incredible man, who made an attempt to help not only his tribe but every person he came in contact with. Sadly the same hurdles to achieve citizen ship are still in place. The American Indian of every tribe still holds the unique position of being held in limbo, a citizen in name only , with no rights. Luther Standing Bear story explains that and so much more with honor and pride. A must read for every "white" and non white citizen.

[Donovan Colegrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book represents the clashing of two distinct cultures and one man's attempts to navigate between them. Parts of the story are funny, while others are horrifying. Standing Bear has no qualms about stating his opinion and I found that to be refreshing and enlightening. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was refreshing to read this narrative written from the perspective of a writer whose life was anything but stereotypical compared to the histories that we are used to reading about early Native American life. In this book originally published 94 years ago, Luther Standing Bear shared his incredible (and for the most part positive) journey growing up as the son of a Lakota Chief, attending the Carlisle Indian School, witnessing the Ghost Dance uprising leading to the massacre at Wounded Knee, touring Europe with Buffalo Bill Cody and eventually returning to his people to leading them in the Indian Rights movement as their Chief. His storytelling as one of the first Indians to experience different events and of meeting historical figures - including great chiefs, a president and a king of England - made for a compelling read and reminded this reader a bit of the life of Forest Gump.

[Elizabeth Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treasure this book is. I wish I'd discovered it earlier. There was some internalized racism which broke my heart (the author says lighter and whiter is better when referring to his children who were mixed on their mother's side). It was fascinating to hear a more positive take on the Carlisle Indian boarding schools, which goes to show that history is complex because people are complex. As a first-person account from a Native writer whose story isn't filtered through a White collaborator (though his take was certainly altered by White influence on his life), this is priceless. I'm only sorry that the audiobook mentions accompanying photographs, and these are missing from the Amazon Classics ebook edition. Off to find a library copy!

[John P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting autobiography, "My People the Sioux" covers the author's life and times centered roughly around the year 1900. The prose is simple and direct, reads easily and moves quickly. Four stars are awarded not for literary merit but for the important and dramatic documentation of a bygone era. While depressing in some ways, the author gives the reader a first-hand account of his tribe, their customs, and their interaction with the government.

It's a wonder that the author met the number of important historical characters that he did not to mention the "insider" knowledge he shares of notable events of the time.

The 'author notes' at the end of the book refer to image credits, but their were no images in the kindle version.

[Chuck Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir/autobiography of one of the first Sioux boys to attend the Carlisle Indian School. Standing Bear eventually became a tribal chief and went to work in the movies in LA but he also worked as a teacher in a reservation school and translator for the Buffalo Bill Wild West show in Europe. A fascinating life at the center of Native American affairs during the last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The first part of book about his childhood was rather bland but his adult life was amazing and a testimonial to his genial nature and positive, hard-working values. An American success story and an important book.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very insightful and informative autobiography. I greatly enjoyed reading it. It was so interesting to hear stories of Luther Standing Bear’s life from infancy until his final days, as he lived through very significant events in the colonization of America. From tales of hunting buffalo and assembling tipis across the prairie, to attending Indian boarding school, and beyond, Luther shares his story that provides the reader with greater insight into just how quickly and drastically the lives of so many Native Americans were changed. As a Native American myself, I am always thankful for solid resources that help us understand more about our history as a people.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was glad for the chance to read about Luther Standing Bear's life and experiences, but I couldn't help notice that despite his family's intentions to help their people, the Sioux, conditions before their subjugation seemed significantly better than after. I think subjugation is the right word here, as they lost their autonomy. I was surprised how hard he and his family worked on behalf of the people subjugation them. I suppose I would have to have lived there and then to understand, but I wonder why they didn't fight very hard against the settlers from the first and continue to do so.

[Huleeta Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressive account of the life of the first people to live in America.

This book is unlike any other I have read. . Luther Standing Bear gives a true picture of the life of his people. One can discover the actual facts of the life of an influential man and the way of life of the Indians; not the untrue way they were depicted in movies and other books. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the real life of a Sioux. Well done!

[Samuel Banina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an experience of reading a book, giving this a 3, but it's still a very worthwhile read. Between Luther and his father we get to follow two generations straddling the old world of the Plains Indians and new reality of coexisting with white civilization. Luther is clearly writing to a white audience, so some atrocities are played down. But still fascinating to see a view from the Native American perspective as they realize the old world is gone for good.

[Mark Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent first person story of life among the Sioux in the 19th century

I found this book to be an excellent source of information about life among the Sioux Indians in Nebraska and Dakota, and one man story about how he fought to gain dignity and integration as a legitimate American citizen

[Hugh Plylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real understanding of life for real Americans

After reading this book, I realize just how the white people mistreated and so misunderstood the American
Indians. Even though they were very different from the white people they were never given the opportunity to be accepted as true Americans. Luther Standing Bear was truly a great citizen.

[Dale Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good historical book

I am very interested in factual historical books. This is a very good historical story of Indian life and history. As I was reading I checked some of the stories told in this book. I found they were true. I enjoyed reading about the everyday life of the Indian.

[Frank LaFerriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luther Standing Bear is one of my favorite authors. His revealing of the life of a Sioux after the invasion of the Christian talibans just still amazes me how much he overcame, especially being a student at the Carlisle Indian School. And to read about the great Ghost Dances and Sitting Bull and the rest of the Lakota leaders brought great joy to my heart.

[Ryan Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent example of real Native American life upon the closing of the Wild West

A wonderful narrative of Sioux life during their transitional experience with white Americans. The reader will enjoy Luther Standing Bear’s positive tone when describing his own life and optimism for future generations of American Indians.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish, My People The Sioux.

There have been many stating the original natives are the original Americans. This book says it again. I like the fact that this fellow worked hard to improve himself and became a respected person by both white and red.

It seemed a good representation of their way of life.

[Denzel Struchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Finally an autobiographical account of the Sioux that details their struggle for acceptance and bring the unvarnished truth to light. A truly well written story and makes the reader think of what the American government and those hired by it, did to ruin the true American's, The First Nation

[Anthony Ambruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history

I enjoyed reading this book; although, I did not learn much that was new for me. I can recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Sioux life. Standing Bear was an interesting fellow.

[Andrew Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuine, heartfelt stories told by a native Sioux, unadulterated and pure, an exciting life told in a direct but gentle manner

I loved it, a true story from a rare perspective, humbly told, authentic portrayals of historical events and personalities, a ripping good yarn

[Jo L Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I !over this book! Have read it twice!

It was was written without malice or prejudice. Very factual. Was so interesting to read how the Indians really lived and how Luther tried to better his life and his tribe.

[Otis Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

This book is more about the final days of the Sioux nation and one man's experience while he tried to transition into changing times, including appearing in BUFFALO BILL'S show in the late 19th century.

[Sharon Snider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much information about Indian life.

If you have an interest in a true picture of Indian life in the US, this is an interesting read. I have read many books related to early American people. The details concerning their life are remarkable in this book.

[Jayne Cambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

An autobiographical account of Luther Standing Bear's life with his tribe and the tribesmen.
I couldn't put this book down! The life and times of the Native American; what they went through trying to survive the changes in America is something many people don't know about.

Your emotions will run in different directions reading this book.