Neil Waldman’s Wounded Knee is a compact, intense, and sobering retelling of the history of native, indigenous peoples of North America who lived on the lands now claimed by the United States. For a book only 51 pages in length, it provides a thorough capsule of events leading up to the horrific end met by so many women, children, and men whose families were robbed of their way of life before the onslaught of settlers corrupted their lands. The book does a fabulous job of establishing and explaining who these indigenous tribes were, where they lived, who led them, and how they were organized. It also clarifies misunderstandings between them and the American invaders and oppressors who dehumanized them as they imposed their collective and respective wills so disrespectfully upon the native inhabitants. Chapters 1 through 4 establish the history and backdrop for what eventually happens at Wounded Knee, but Chapter 5, titled “The Messiah,” is an inspiring retelling of the story of Wovoka, the new Wanekia, or son of the Great Spirit, who teaches his people a great new spirituality after a vision and visit with The Great Spirit. This chapter is pivotal as it sets the stage for the holy and cultural war that ensues in the book’s climax - the battle at Wounded Knee. This book seems more appropriate for a young adult reader, though an enlightened younger reader could well comprehend the events and episodes recounted therein with some guidance and discussion. The book is definitely an excellent introduction to further exploration and research into the history of the native, indigenous peoples who lived on these lands which were eventually claimed by the United States. It introduces readers to a wide array of facts and concepts, especially after Chapter 5 explains aspects of native American mysticism and spirituality. If there is any criticism of this book, it fails to provide any sort of history as to the spirituality of indigenous peoples prior to Chapter 5. Although a highly perceptive reader might infer as to early native Americans’ beliefs from some of the text in the first four chapters, it would have been helpful to include at least a handful of explicit references to native American views on nature or humankind’s role in relation to the planet or the heavens. Otherwise, this book provides a solid foundation for further study of the tragedies visited upon the original inhabitants of this continent. ( )

Perhaps my reviews of other books relating to the Wounded Knee Massacre has spoiled me with regards to my expectations. While this book did benefit from making use of personal accounts of those who survived the massacre, it was sorely wanting in detail. Just as I was becoming invested in a chapter, the chapter would end and the book would shift its focus. It made it rather difficult to enjoy the book, or to get anything out of it.
This would be best for a teacher to make use of in a set up where they are reading to their class. ( )

This is one of those books that grabbed me by the pictures. These illustrations are gorgeous recreations of photographs of Native Americans and settlers during the time period. The portray the people and events with dignity and draw you in to the story. Every reader always wants to know what the people mentioned in a story might have looked like, and these images not only provide that information but also tell a deeper story, in the stroke of blue around a persons face or shadowed faces under hat brims.

This story is about Wounded Knee but its really about much more. Only the last few pages of this book discuss the battle at Wounded Knee.
This book tells the story of a conflict between two peoples. From the first pages of this book we know that one group is the Lakota nation of the Midwest, but from the text one might assume at first that the opposing group is another tribe. Waldman manages to convey the conflict through an unbiased lens, which is so hard to find in stories of conflict between white settlers and Native Americans. But it is absolutely true that you can see the conflict as as two different groups at odds, rather than a superior group dominating an inferior group. Even when an author tries to tell an unbiased story, when you introduce the story of any Native American story first with the white settlers, the reader brings his/her own bias, and fills in the rest of the pages with a familiar narrative before even reading. Waldman accomplishes a fresh perspective in the way he introduces this piece of history.

I absolutely love how the story is told- through the words of many chiefs and individuals of different Lakota tribes, of how misconceptions arose, and why people reacted the way they did (on both sides.) It is not about savages and civilized settlers, it is about two different cultures meeting and how they reacted to one another. With that said, it is very difficult to read about how disrespectfully the Lakota were treated and not feel a bias about this period in history after reading this story.

I would not teach about the battle of Wounded Knee without reading or covering the material in this book. This is an important to story to illustrate in the course of human actions and American history. ( )