Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is a documented account of the destruction of the American Indian in the late 1800s ending at the Battle of Wounded Knee. The author asks us to confront our past, which may make us uncomfortable. But there are two sides to every story, and Brown shows us the side that we rarely see. By forcing us to think about these issues, Dee Brown accomplished the goal he set out to achieve when he began writing this eye opening account of the American West. Brown brings to light a story of torture not well known in American history. It opens the eyes of the reader as to how early settlers treated the American Indians. This was accomplished as she effectively tells of the Indian's historical struggle against the white man's greed. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a work of non-fiction, attempts to tell the story of the American West from the perspective of the American Indian. That itself makes Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee an important work of literature as it is one of the few books supporting the Indian cause. This is done through the use of council records, autobiographies, and first-hand accounts. Using council records, autobiographies, Congressional records, U.S. Army treaties and firsthand de
Carleton immediately began his plans for Navaho transfer to the Bosque Redondo. June 23, Carleton set a deadline for when all Navajo should arrive at the Bosque. July 20 was that day; it came and went without the arrival of any Navaho. By this time, Kit Carson was on his side and knew just what had to be done to bring in the Navajo. Beginning July 25, he would burn their land and destroy their livestock and crops. On August 18, Carleton decided to place a bounty in order to hurry this process of destruction. Men were to be rewarded $20 for every usable mule or horse and $1 per sheep head delivered to the commissary at Fort Canby. In September, Carleton decided that Carson's path of destruction wasn't moving along at a quick enough pace. Therefore, he ordered that every Navaho male be killed or taken prisoner on sight. On October 17, two Navaho arrived at Fort Wingate under a truce flag. There they pleaded with Carleton to allow them to build camp near Fort Wingate peacefully, where they could be under constant watch by the soldiers, instead of going to the Bosque. This offer was sent to Carleton in Santa Fe and as always he refused telling them they had no other choice but to go to the Bosque Redondo or the war would continue. Finally Delgadito surrendered and brought his Navaho followers to the Bosque. Brown made sure to include songs, quotes, and portraits placed throughout the book. The portraits are well selected and placed, as are the quotes, and help present a wider picture of the point in history. The Nez Perce was a friend of the United States for seventy years before they had a problem with the United States. They were on of the few groups that said that they didn't kill any whites. This all changed one night after the United States warned them to move out in 30 days or they would be massacred. ON this night a band of warriors sneaked out of their camp and killed eleven soldiers. Chief Joseph wished that this had never happened. He said that he would have given his life rater than this happening. The troops staked their camp out and watched over it till the next morning. They drank to keep worm that night and by the morning most were still drunk. If it had not been for this that many of the Nez Perce may not have survived. The troops fired shots in every direction. They killed many of Indians but they also wound up killing many of their own people. This led for a somewhat easy escape for Chief Joseph and his tribe. Their plan was to escape to the Canadian border. Each of the book's nineteen chapters deals with a certain tribe, battle, or historical event. Brown goes into deep detail throughout the book, as seen by the book's nearly 500 pages. Very little is known about this terrible genocide. Brown has written many books about the life of the American Indian, including Creek Mary's Blood and Killdeer Mountain, but Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is clearly his greatest work.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4778
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page double spaced)
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