Great Plains and On the Rez by Ian Frazier
One of the most surprising books I've run into (I bought my copy at the Visitor Center in Badlands National Park) is Great Plains by Ian Frazier. This is a rip-roaring travelogue on the grasslands and spans a range of emotions, from very funny to quite sad in places. I recently read it for the second time while relaxing in the Grand River National Grassland.
And then, out of the clear blue, Ian Frazier popped up in Mankato (my home turf) in February of 2002. He was the featured speaker for a writers' series at the university where I taught. Lo and behold! Frazier had another book out, which I was unaware of until then; I bought it at once. Called On the Rez it picks up where Great Plains leaves off in terms of some of the people. But this book is more a journalistic, if very personal, account of the Pine Ridge Reservation just south of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland — one of my favorite places on earth. I couldn't put it down, and read chapter after chapter into the wee hours of the night.
I happen to think that Frazier is one of the most brilliant authors in America today. Besides the subject matter which I adore, there's something about his style that is unlike anyone else; his descriptions are vivid without being grandiose or pretentious. Almost like reading Oscar Wilde, there are certain clever passages that stick with me for their sheer power of evoking lifelike images. (And like Oscar Wilde, I wish I had thought of them first!) This guy is a master language weaver.
After finishing On the Rez, I then heard Frazier speak at the function mentioned above. What a wonderful and friendly man! Afterwards I got to chat with him a bit, and am now the proud owner of two personally autographed volumes by him — among my most prized possessions. In one of them he inscribed, "...to a fellow Great Plains traveller..."
If you love touring the Great Plains, or if you'd like to meet some of the quirky people who live there, or if you simply admire great, colorful writing of an American master, then seek out Frazier at once. I don't think you'll accuse me of exaggerating his talent.
Grassland by Richard Manning
Another great find was Richard Manning's Grassland: The History, Biology, Politics, and Promise of the American Prairie. Don't let the lengthy and imposing title fool you — the book is anything but a dry, academic piece. In fact, this is on my list of ten all time favorites in any category.
Reading Grassland has turned out to be one of the key incidents in my life. By 1997 I was already drawn to the prairie, but hadn't yet developed mature eyes to really see it. And then I found Manning's book, quite by accident. I packed it for our autumn venture across North Dakota that year, and read from it each night as the cool air wafted through our tent. I was hooked. By the way, I have fond memories of devouring the chapter on Theodore Roosevelt National Park, while tenting at that very spot.
Grassland spans many years and many miles. Perhaps you'll be surprised, like I was, to find that Thomas Jefferson might have been the person behind this country's two-hundred years of misunderstanding the prairie. You'll learn about the impact of the Homestead Act in the 1860s, and then be brought up to present day abominations perpetrated by chemical companies. But this isn't a book containing only sad tales. Manning describes a number of success stories as well, like the return of the buffalo and forward thinking ranchers with an interest in ecology.
Manning is another of our great American writers who really knows how to turn a phrase. I'll never forget his description of an overheated coyote's tongue, or the old geezer swearing at the stairs that tripped him up, or the homemade sandwiches that Montana air desiccated in a trice, and especially the passage describing what makes us less of a people. This is powerful writing.
I've gone through three copies of Grassland now. I keep giving them away as gifts, and will probably continue to do so, like some sort of literary Johnny Appleseed. It's that good of a book. May I recommend it to you?
Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream by John E. Carter
If you love Nebraska like I do, then you won't want to miss Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream by John E. Carter. This is a collection of historic photographs from the sod hut days and really conjures up a feeling for the Homestead Act of 1868. It's a large format tome, and like I say, is pure Nebraska. I was so impressed with the Butcher exhibit at the Gothenberg Sod Hut Museum, that I picked up a copy of this book there as well. It wasn't inexpensive, but this is high quality art on a subject dear to me.
From Dust Bowl to Public Prairie: The National Grasslands Story by Tom Domek
Another favorite of mine is From Dust Bowl to Public Prairie: The National Grasslands Story by Tom Domek. This is a beautifully produced little booklet of 30 pages, and the sketch of the hawk on the cover alone is worth the entire price. Besides giving the history of the Grasslands and how they've been managed and mismanaged, it also spotlights several specific ones with descriptions of the flora and fauna found there. There is no date, place or publisher listed for this booklet, and so I'm not able to provide a link to it. I found my copy at the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall. Hey! — I've just given you a good reason to go visit there!
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes
I came across this volume at Al's Oasis in Oacoma, on the way back from the Pine Ridge Reservation in August of 2002. I wish I had found it earlier, for it is an outstanding resource and puts a number of things into perspective — I recommend reading it before heading west. It is not great literature in the sense of the Frazier and Manning books described above, but it is an extremely important book. By that I mean that the writing style is plain, matter-of-fact and narrative in nature. (More proofreading would help fix some of the grammatical problems as well.) On the other hand, Crow Dog and Erdoes have told a story here that has never seen print before, as far as I know. This is a gripping account you won't ever forget.
Crow Dog is a Lakota woman who grew up in the Rosebud Reservation (just east of the Pine Ridge Rez.) She started life aimlessly, in a part of South Dakota afflicted with alcoholism, racism, violence and so forth. Being sent to a mission school didn't improve things (to put it mildly), perhaps only adding to the confusion of her perceived place in the world. The autobiography pulls no punches and Crow Dog doesn't attempt to put a polite spin on any of her background.
In this amazing story you'll follow her as she grows away from a life of dissipation and despair to that of becoming involved with AIM (the American Indian Movement) as it attempted to bring freedom from fear in the troubled reservations of southwest South Dakota. I don't want to give away too much, but eventually you'll read of Crow Dog giving birth to a baby during the 73 day siege at Wounded Knee — a war zone, if you remember those grim days of a Justice Department run amok. You won't be able to put this book down after starting it.
But for me, the best parts are the descriptions of day-to-day life on the Rez — in our age. Crow Dog and Erdoes describe all of the little incidents that make up a typical day, things like hauling water from the White River in buckets for washing, making do in tar paper shanties, dealing with discrimination in white towns, loosing friends to murder — murders never properly investigated. You won't believe this is the same country the rest of us live in. And you'll learn quite a bit about Lakota notions, since Mary Crow Dog eventually married an important spiritual leader (and bane to the BIA and CIA!)
Trust me, despite the almost simplistic style, this book tells a story no other has. I recommend it most highly. (But I sure wish it had an index; I keep returning to it to look up names, places and dates.)
And, oh, Turner Productions made a film from part of the story in 1994, called Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee. It's an interesting movie to watch, shot entirely in South Dakota. The scenery and Wounded Knee recreations are great, and most of the actors superb. But missing is all of that minute detail concerning day-to-day life in the Rez. My advice is to first read the book to learn, and then watch the video for the settings.
Black Hills Byways: Exploring the Back Roads by J. A. Baumhofer
Here's a neat little book you should consider throwing in the car for your next trip out West. Published just this year, I heard about it directly from the author. The title is pretty self-explanatory; it covers a variety of places many people miss when they head for the Hills. Baumhofer has an eye for some of the out-of-the-way destinations I enjoy, like the Oglala and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, the Pine Ridge of Nebraska, and the Missouri River.
The book contains tons of illustrations, pictures and maps, along with very complete directions for driving tours. Some of these places really are off the beaten path, and so you'll appreciate the value of descriptions of the various roads, turnoffs and navigation landmarks.
Part 1 of the book describes how to use the guide, along with some tips concerning the driving, climate and so forth. Part 2 presents the actual driving tours. And Part 3 has a number of interesting historical vignettes concerning some of the people who have lived in this part of the Great Plains over the centuries. Of particular interest to me were the write-ups on a number of the Lakota leaders famous in these parts, and some of the notorious outlaws who passed through.
Part 4 concludes the guide with resources for further reading, Web sites to visit (including this one!), and addresses to which you can write for maps, etc.
If my Web site has piqued your interest in exploring the back roads of the Great Plains, then Baumhofer's book would be a great way to get started on your own expeditions. It's nicely produced, handy to carry and should appeal to people desiring to see a bit more of the Black Hills than Mount Rushmore, Bedrock City and the countless tourist attractions that populate the area.
Since this guide is quite new, I'm not certain who all stocks it. Perhaps the simplest way would be to obtain it directly from the author via his Web site; see the link below. And in case you're going look for it elsewhere, here's the complete bibliographic data: Black Hills Byways by J. A. Baumhofer, (Florissant, Missouri: Little River Books Division, 2003).
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