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A review by cheyennenajee
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto by Vine Deloria Jr.
I picked up this book at the home of my aunt right before taking a week long beach vacation. The same aunt gave me Deloria's God Is Red for my birthday, and I hadn't read it yet, so I figured this might be a good primer before taking on the other book.
Deloria hits the nail on the head with a lot of things in this book. The Indian Humor. The rise of traditional religions. With his scathing sarcasm, his voice radiates off of the page. He also gets a lot of things wrong, however, in a way that almost made me want to stop reading several times.
His treatment of "black militants" and the Black Power movement in general leaves something to be desired. Do I understand what he's saying? Yes. It's not that I don't get it, it's that I don't think we should use words like "ape" when discussing the way black people in the 1960s attempted to gain rights and recognition in the settler state. Additionally, I don't think the corporate mindset is good for indigenous communities. Yes, holding property in common while keeping personal property is good. Yes, working towards the greater good of the community is good. But I think the word Deloria was looking for and was probably adverse to using during the time the book was written was something along the lines of communism. I disagree with his capitalistic outlook on how tribes can advance themselves, especially when it's coupled with his own knowledge that Indians tend to be removed from US politics and economy. In but not of the settler state. Why dive headfirst into settler economy if the goal is recolonization and eventually a red North American continent?
Deloria contradicts himself quite a few times, but the book was still a good read. I finished Nick Estes' Our History is the Future the same day I started this book, so I was primed for the talk of treaty rights, especially with regard to the making and breaking of specific treaties, as well as talk of Task Force reports, that the average reader may not be prepared for. Even with my qualms, I think I will still read Deloria's other works, especially considering how large of an impact he has had on so-called Indian Affairs.
Deloria hits the nail on the head with a lot of things in this book. The Indian Humor. The rise of traditional religions. With his scathing sarcasm, his voice radiates off of the page. He also gets a lot of things wrong, however, in a way that almost made me want to stop reading several times.
His treatment of "black militants" and the Black Power movement in general leaves something to be desired. Do I understand what he's saying? Yes. It's not that I don't get it, it's that I don't think we should use words like "ape" when discussing the way black people in the 1960s attempted to gain rights and recognition in the settler state. Additionally, I don't think the corporate mindset is good for indigenous communities. Yes, holding property in common while keeping personal property is good. Yes, working towards the greater good of the community is good. But I think the word Deloria was looking for and was probably adverse to using during the time the book was written was something along the lines of communism. I disagree with his capitalistic outlook on how tribes can advance themselves, especially when it's coupled with his own knowledge that Indians tend to be removed from US politics and economy. In but not of the settler state. Why dive headfirst into settler economy if the goal is recolonization and eventually a red North American continent?
Deloria contradicts himself quite a few times, but the book was still a good read. I finished Nick Estes' Our History is the Future the same day I started this book, so I was primed for the talk of treaty rights, especially with regard to the making and breaking of specific treaties, as well as talk of Task Force reports, that the average reader may not be prepared for. Even with my qualms, I think I will still read Deloria's other works, especially considering how large of an impact he has had on so-called Indian Affairs.