'Let me tell it in my own words': identity in Lakota narratives of Wounded Knee

Abstract

This thesis examines productions in alternative media on the Wounded Knee occupation of 1973 by AIM activists and Lakota participants. Activist texts, autobiographies, films, and web representations have their own characteristics in narrating the occupation and projecting Lakota identity. Common elements of their narration, however, run throughout the genres, signifying a cultural and identity-informing Lakota history telling. Wounded Knee, the site of the historic 1890 massacre of Lakota by the U.S. Army, provides the link that the occupiers and narrators of 1973 use to explain the spiritual and cultural significance of the occupation, and to expand the discussion of the legal issues surrounding the Fort Laramie Treaty. Tribal history and culture is given priority in these narrations reflecting Lakota, activist, and Pan-Indian identity. These interpretations subvert the historical narrative and adapt popular formats to imbue their histories with cultural relevance and political poignancy.