Mari Sandoz grew up in the Sand Hills of Nebraska near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. At the age of twelve, she was beaten by her father when he learned that she published an article in the local newspaper. Jules Sandoz considered writers to be “maggots of society”. Neither the beating nor how her father felt about writers deterred her from her passion to write.
Sandoz Advocates for Native Americans
The collection is broken down into four parts with the first chapter revealing the importance of accuracy in telling the history of Native Americans. The second section details how Sandoz advocated for the Plains Indians. She wrote letters to anyone who knew of the hardships among the Indians during the mid-twentieth century. Through the letters, Lee expressed Sandoz's concern for the termination policy by the federal government that would no longer recognize certain tribes and put them at risk of exploitation and the stealing of their land for natural resources. The policy also forced Indians to relocate and be assimilated into white culture without any preparation.
The third chapter reveals Sandoz's endeavors to persuade the film and television industry to portray Native Americans historically accurate and not stereotype them in a way which were historically and culturally incorrect, as well as insensitive. In her letters, she argued that the way Native Americans were portrayed harmed their dignity and showed them no respect. In the final chapter, Lee revealed how Sandoz encouraged Native American writers and artists and helped them to receive recognition for their work.
Sandoz's Letters Reveal Her Appreciation of Native American Culture
Mari Sandoz believed that Native Americans deserved respect and that if given the opportunity the tribes and the people would take care of themselves. She also believed that "Indian history is not a separate history, but an integral part of American History".
Sandoz was a writer and a historian. She did not form an organization to help her with her cause, nor did she run for political offices. Her main goal was to expose and correct the way Native Americans were treated in the United States.
She believed that society could learn from the Native American culture. Sandoz used the phrase, “A people without a history is like the wind on the buffalo grass”.
This book is excellent for anyone who studies Native American History, the Civil Rights Movement, and “the development of culture, literature, and the arts in mid-twentieth century America".
Source:
Lee, Kimberli A. "I Do Not Apologize for the Length of This Letter: The Mari Sandoz Letters on Native American Rights, 1940-1965. Texana, Texas Tech University Press, 2009.
Christine Musser - Christine is a passionate researcher and does not stop the research process until she has exhausted all possibilities. Her research has ...
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