''Lakota Woman'' is a memoir by

Mary Brave Bird Mary Brave Bird, also known as Mary Brave Woman Olguin and Mary Crow Dog (September 26, 1954 – February 14, 2013) was a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s and participated in some ...

, a Sicangu Lakota who was formerly known as Mary Crow Dog. Reared on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, she describes her childhood and young adulthood, which included many historical events associated with the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police br ...

. ''Lakota Woman'' describes Brave Bird's participation in the 1972

Trail of Broken Treaties The Trail of Broken Treaties (also known as the Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan and the Pan American Native Quest for Justice) was a 1972 cross-country caravan of American Indian and First Nations organizations that started on the West Coast of ...

and the 1973 Indian Occupation at Wounded Knee. She also writes about her marriage to

Leonard Crow Dog Leonard Crow Dog (August 18, 1942 – June 5, 2021) was a medicine man and spiritual leader who became well known during the Lakota takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973, known as th ...

, the spiritual leader of AIM. She describes her involvement in the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The ...

Richard Erdoes Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt, to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Rich� ...

(1912-2008) edited the book. Born in Austria and author of over 21 books, Erdoes was a longtime friend of Brave Bird and also helped her publish her other memoir, ''Ohitika Woman''.Beauvais, Archie B. and Amanda Takes War Bonnett
"Author Richard Erdoes dies at home at age 96"
''Lakota County Times,''24 July 08 (retrieved 30 January 09)

from the original on 14 December 2011.

Honors

''Lakota Woman'' won the 1991

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

.Bataille, Gretchen M. and Laurie Lisa. ''Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary.'' Oxford: Taylor and Francis, 2001: 50-51. The book inspired the 1994 film '' Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee'' produced by

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

and Jane Fonda. It starred

Irene Bedard Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an American actress, who has played mostly lead Native American roles in a variety of films. She is perhaps best known for the role of Suzy Song in the 1998 film '' Smoke Signals'', an adaptation of a Sherma ...

who would also later provide the speaking voice of

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

in the 1995 Disney animation Pocahontas.

References

American Indian Movement Brulé Lakota culture Native American history of South Dakota Non-fiction books about Native Americans Literature by Native American women American Book Award-winning works {{lit-bio-book-stub