The Oglala Sioux: Warriors in Transition

by Robert H. Ruby, Cary C. Collins (Introduction), Glenn L. Emmons (Foreword by)

Overview

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) physician Robert H. Ruby arrived on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to oversee the health needs of the Oglala Sioux tribe during a period of significant transformation and change in federal Indian policies. As Ruby came to know the individuals living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and as he grew more acquainted with the stories, traditions, and cultural systems of the Sioux, he was compelled to collect his observations and opinions on this tribe, considered at the time one of the most resistant to white culture and BIA “civilizing” efforts.

Originally published in 1955, Ruby’s book The Oglala Sioux presents a vibrant picture of the ways in which the lives of these American Indians were altered under the influence of the U.S. government, and it details the deep and in many ways heroic struggle of the Sioux to recover and maintain their culture and sovereignty. Through Ruby’s work as a doctor on the reservation and through this compelling and informative narrative, he advocated understanding, compassion, and, in keeping with the tenor of the times in which he both lived and labored, change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803226227
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	04/01/2010
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	689,960
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Robert H. Ruby (1921–2013) is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including A Doctor among the Oglala Sioux Tribe: The Letters of Robert H. Ruby 1953–1954 (Nebraska 2010). Glenn L. Emmons (1895–1980) served as commissioner of Indian affairs under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was cited for distinguished service in 1957. Cary C. Collins is the editor of Assimilation’s Agent: My Life as a Superintendent in the Indian Boarding School System (Nebraska 2007) and A Doctor among the Oglala Sioux Tribe (Nebraska 2010).

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Bison Books Edition v

Introduction xxi

I The Old and the New Sampi Yaya Le Hantu 13

II The Old Sampi Yaya 32

III Religion Okolakiciya 44

IV Spider Stories Iktomi 72

V Hunting Wamkasqan Ole 78

VI Sioux Dances Lakota Wacipi 83

VII Red Cloud Mahpiya Luta 89

VIII Crazy Horse Tasunke Witko 96

IX The Battle of Wounded Knee Cankpe Opi Okicize 102

X The New Le Hantu 109

Index 116