Rerelease of book takes readers on tour of conflict, battles
Welch himself, who died in 2003, was an American Indian, part of the Blackfeet and Gros Ventre tribes, and "Killing Custer" enables him to tell the story from an empathetic rather than sympathetic standpoint. His research is spot-on, including interviews from American Indians and white soldiers, pictures, drawings and even Custer's last letter. Details of American Indian rituals, vision quests and beliefs permeate the text, giving the reader a greater understanding of why the Plains Indians of the time acted the way they did. Mutilating the corpses of enemies was to ensure that those who meant them harm in this life would not be able to cause them any harm in the next life, where they would all inevitably go. By seeking to eliminate the prejudices and change the perceptions of this time period, "Killing Custer" succeeds.
5 comments:
Writerfella here --
Long disregarded has been the testimony of Natives who witnessed what happened to Custer after the Battle of The Little Big Horn. Far from being what the famous painting portrayed, Custer survived the battle, though gravely wounded. He was taken to a Sioux camp, and given a 'trial' though he could not have understood the language under which he stood accused. Once pronounced, the sentence was this: women, children, and old people were given their chance to assault him with sticks and clubs and their own hands, and thus was Custer killed by the very same Natives that had suffered from his attacks. There is no proof that these events actually occurred, except for one instance. At the Custer National Memorial in South Dakota, there is no grave for Custer on that site. Alone among them all, he simply is not there.
Irony and justice aside, what became of his remains, as no one to this time ever has found his body? History has no clue, and reality has no clue, either. He simply...disappeared. Like Hitler, Custer cannot be found. In Nostradamus' quatrains, the word used was Hister; was that Hitler, or was that Custer? Will anyone ever know?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Isn't it funny how you have to peel the layers of this onion?
For a more Accurate account of this, why not listen to the Cheyenne History?
check this out: http://helenair.com/articles/2005/06/28/montana_top/a01062805_02.txt
and: http://www.ncheyenne.net/tribalreport/June/The%20People%20page%209.htm
and:
in the texan:http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticleComments&ustory_id=7f372615-6414-4181-ab62-c81b44505035
later,
Chris
Rob, thanks for your imput on that artist sight, you should see it now..
I'm glad you said there's no proof of your "Custer survived" claim, Russ. You saved me the trouble of saying it. ;-)
Writerfella here --
What writerfella meant is that the story comes from Native sources and witnesses, and the White Man trusts none of such sources, especially where his kind are concerned. That you, Rob, would have said that there is no proof, if writerfella had not said so first, simply is par for your side of things. Once again, a full-blown case of irony-deficiency anemia...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
I'd treat Native sources the same as any other sources if I'd actually heard them claim Custer survived Little Big Horn. But I read Killing Custer by James Welch (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre) and he didn't mention this alleged occurrence. So give us a source--not your interpretation of a source--and I'll consider it.
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