Post by crzhrs on Dec 26, 2014 14:24:56 GMT -6
In a latest publication of Mari Sandoz's Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (Third Edition) there is an excellent introduction by Vine Deloria. When Deloria first read the book nearly 50 years ago he stated: "I was a little offended that a non-Sioux had written a biography of one of the legendary personalities of my tribe . . . she could not know little of the nuances of meaning that characterize Indian communities . . . I was suspicious of the awkward sentences that seemed to parody reservation English and detract from the straight historical narrative I had encountered in other books on Indians. On the whole I could not see the book as distinguishing itself from other popular histories of the Sioux. My first response was to look for footnotes, as scene after familiar scene unfolded in my mind. Surely I had ready many of these things before . . . but where? As each chapter chronicled the story of Crazy Horse, I began to see something entirely different emerging. Mari Sandoz had presented a wholly authentic account of the struggle for the northern plains during the 1850s through the 1870s in which almost every line rang true. I was stunned at the wealth of detail contained in each line of text . . . material that must have come from her conversations with elders . . . that overflows with authenticity. I doubt anyone else could tell the life of Crazy Horse as well as Sandoz does. How else can we explain how her writing captured nuances that only a few would know and understand? How unfortunate that reviewers and scholars lacking any experience of the western lands have missed the real genius of this book."
Perhaps it's time to reread Sandoz' book and see in this book history as biography and biography as history.
Perhaps it's time to reread Sandoz' book and see in this book history as biography and biography as history.