Whenever I read a book about Native Americans (Bury My
Heart at Wounded Knee, Empire of the Summer Moon) my first thought
is “it’s gonna be hard to get happy after this one”…then I dose myself with
some Fire Water and things get back to normal.
Now I’m no Indian scholar- in fact until a coupla years ago
I thought Atlanta Braves mascot Chief Nocahoma was reference to some
Pre-Columbian Chief and not a bad pun/play on words- but the problem is the
story is always the same. A relatively peaceful, hardworking people are done in
by money, technology and government lies…you know, like today’s middle class.
The twist in In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter
Matthiessen is that it covers the modern era in Indian Wars as led by the late
60’s/early 70’s American Indian Movement (AIM) with a small assist from a fat
Marlon Brando.
The kinda Native American that
could get me to build a little “teepee”…
The narrative revolves around the killing of two FBI agents
in 1974 at a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D. and the subsequent
trial of three members of AIM deemed responsible. That means in excess of 600
pages of conflicting accusations, bureaucratic inefficiencies, FBI snooping,
witness tampering and perjured testimony that never really definitively gets to
the truth because, after all, that’s not what our adversarial justice system is
about.
Additionally there are several long sections pertaining to controversial
prosecution witness Myrtle Poor Bear. Described as a roly-poly, dim,
semi-literate with a taste for honey (though I could be wrong on this last one)
I consistently read her name as Myrtle POOH Bear thereafter taking some of the
gravitas out of the narrative. Plus in a more ironic turn I couldn’t help but
wonder if the wives of members of the White American Movement (WHAM) asked
their husbands to “wake them up before you go-go” on their nightly reservation
Indian bashing raids.
If you’re into Native American history this is an interesting
read. Much like tomes such as The Warmth of Other Suns detail the
forgotten hard times of post-Civil War, pre-Civil Rights blacks, In the
Spirit of Crazy Horse reminds us things weren’t all rosy for American Indians
once they laid down their weapons and took up government-assisted living. Then
again if you wanna cut to the chase and see how the whole sordid affair turned
out you can just visit your local casino…
Chief Double Down welcomes you…
Like all John O’Hara novels Butterfield 8 features a
flawed protagonist that drinks too much and dies in the end…and even though
that hits a bit too close to home I like it.
The thing I like best about O’Hara, though, is his ability
to conjure up a 1930’s America so vividly that you feel like you’re there. Yet
at the same time leave in all the self-doubt and insecurities that people seem
to forget when they reminisce about these supposed good ol’ days.
All in all a sad, but well-written tale which really is all
one can ask for in or of life. As I tell the former student who always asks, “How’s
that Dream Catcher I made for you in art class?”…it’s still empty. Maybe I’ll
try O’Hara’s Rage to Live next. The NY Times Book Review says it’s
filled with nymphomania, alcoholism, incest and more…That can’t end well and I
like it already.
Elizabeth Taylor as she appeared in
the film version…and but half the woman she later became…
More Stupid Book Reviews either below or to the right at the
links “A Blunder Down Under” and “A Pair To Open”…
