I am sure that the first thing most of you thought when you saw the title was "Huh? Who is Vine Deloria?", but being a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and having read several of Deloria's books, I am saddened by his passing. I first came in contact with Deloria's books in a class I took as a sophomore in college, namely "Custer Died For Your Sins," "American Indians, American Justice," and "God is Red." He was very outspoken and critical of the federal government for failing to live up to its end of the bargain on hundreds of treaties negotiated with Indian tribes. He was truly an asset to one of the forgotten minorities in America. Pick up any of his books if you want to learn about American Indian History. ------------ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051115/ap_on_re_us/obit_deloria DENVER - Vine Deloria Jr., a groundbreaking author and an influential advocate of American Indian rights, has died, family members said. He was 72. Deloria, a Sioux Indian, died Sunday of complications from an aortic aneurysm, said his son, Phil Deloria. The author was considered one of the most outspoken — and persuasive — proponents of Indian cultural and political identity. His best-known book, "Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto," attacked the American Indians' treatment by settlers and the government. "I think he opened Americans' eyes to the real history of Native Americans and the injustice of past federal policies," said John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder. "Through Vine's leadership, tribes started to stand on their treaties and their right to self-determination," he said. As executive director of the National Congress of American Indians in the 1960s, Deloria helped forge a united, "pan-Indian approach" in dealing with the federal government, said Patricia Limerick, faculty chair of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado. "His role in getting Indian people heard in the last half of the 20th century is unparalleled," she said. "(He was able to) get his message into camps where it had never been heard." Deloria was born in 1933 in Martin, S.D. He earned an undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and a law degree from the University of Colorado. He held a number of teaching positions during his career, and retired from the University of Colorado in 2000.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I'd never heard of him... RIP. BTW, what's the forgotten minority of which you refer? You really don't believe that people have forgotten about native Americans, do you? I would expect that most Americans hold the native American culture and history in high regard.
I guess what I meant is that I believe most Americans to be ignorant about American Indian history. When people think of Indians they think of a stereotypical image of feathers, buffaloes, and people riding around on horses instead of acknowledging the great diversity among tribes. And if people had any clue about the hundreds of broken treaties that the federal government negotiated with Indian tribes, I don't think they could ever honestly hold a foreign country responsible for not living up to their end of a treaty.
Yep, the little that I've heard on the treaties is dusgusting. I don't know all of the details though, are you aware of good sites that identifies details...i.e. which of the transgressions were from original, superceded treaties vs. which 'active' treaties are still being breached? (I expect that Vine wouldn't mind us discussing this in his thread ).
