The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska–Pine Ridge Border Towns

Plains Histories

by Stew Magnuson, Pekka Hämäläinen (Foreword)

The long-intertwined communities of the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation and the bordering towns in Sheridan County, Nebraska, mark their histories in sensational incidents and quiet human connections, many recorded in detail here for the first time. After covering racial unrest in the remote northwest corner of his home state of Nebraska in 1999, journalist Stew Magnuson returned four years later to consider the larger questions of its peoples, their paths, and the forces that separate them. Examining Raymond Yellow Thunder’s death at the hands of four white men in 1972, Magnuson looks deep into the past that gave rise to the tragedy. Situating long-ranging repercussions within 130 years of context, he also recounts the largely forgotten struggles of American Indian Movement activist Bob Yellow Bird and tells the story of Whiteclay, Nebraska, the controversial border hamlet that continues to sell millions of cans of beer per year to the “dry” reservation. Within this microcosm of cultural conflict, Magnuson explores the odds against community's power to transcend misunderstanding, alcoholism, prejudice, and violence. “Like all good stories, The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder spins against the way it drives. Even as the people of Sheridan County despise, scorn, exploit, assault, and kill one another, their lives, like objects slipping out of control, become more and more inseparable. Indians and whites coexist and, against all odds, somehow get along, sharing space they really don’t want to share. This countercurrent is the source of the many unexpected stories Magnuson brings forth.” ―Pekka Hämäläinen, from the foreword

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Native American, Biography, Native American History, American History

378 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2008

About the author

Stew Magnuson is the author of The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns, a nonfiction history spanning 130 years in the lives of two communities -- the white settler towns in Sheridan County, Nebraska, and the Oglala Lakotas of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
A native of Omaha and a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Magnuson is a Washington, D.C based journalist and former foreign correspondent who has filed stories from Mali, Japan, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia. He has traveled or lived in forty-six countries, including the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, where he served in the Peace Corps, and Peshawar, Pakistan, where he worked with Afghan refugees in the late 1980s. He is the author of The Song of Sarin, a fictional account of the subway nerve gas attack in Tokyo. He lives in Arlington, Virginia."

He is an associate member of the Western Writers of America.
And a member of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Reviews

[Abby]

This book changed my life. Or at least my experience living temporarily in Gordon, Nebraska.

I picked this out of the local library (signed copy, donated by the author) thinking it would be an anthology of some kind. I was not expecting a history of race relations in the area, beginning at the beginning with the pre-Columbian politics of the Great Plains. My reading experience was complicated by the fact that I was living with my grandparents (old, white Sandhills ranchers), and the fact that I'd been to the Rosebud Lakota Reservation on a mission trip. It struck much closer to home than I expected. I could picture every location. I recognized businesses. Worse, I recognized names.

In short, this book is so entwined with the experiences and conversations (and yes, arguments) I had here in Nebraska that it's hard to respond to it succinctly. I can only say that living history is the kind that hurts the most, sometimes. And in a place where the air is so thick with wouldas and shouldas that you can hardly breathe, I think it's time for us kids to stand up and decide what things could be like in the border towns and on the Rez. I got no bitterness in my genes. Did you?

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent summary of the history of northwestern Nebraska, specifically Sheridan County, and the people and forces that formed the society of the area.

Magnuson's book informed me of much recent history of my home town. It filled in details I hadn't known, corrected misconceptions I had held, and gave me insight into the culture of the town I grew up in.

I wrestle with Magnuson's decision to tell the story in narrative nonfiction style, and Magnuson acknowledges in an author's note that he did too. I still lean against the decision to use this style throughout the book, but I recognize the impact it brings to the book and think it is the right method for the sections about Raymond Yellow Thunder's experience, in which it is extremely powerful.

Worthwhile not only for those with an interest in the U.S. West or White/Native relations but as an examination of two groups living on either side of a border, and the conflicts across and mingling through these semi-permeable boundaries.

[judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be a starter book. I want to know more but, unfortunately, this is likely to be the only book that ever tries to shine an unbiased light on the complex relationships between the Oglala Lakotas of Pine Ridge and the whites in the area. I can't imagine that even an academic would care enough about the smaller incidents to delve further. I'm thankful that Magnuson did record these events. He did an superb job of trying to dig out the facts in situations where both sides automatically distort incidents to demonize the enemy. He also took the problem down to street level. It is what it is. As a newbie to South Dakota, I finally understand the curious/appalling phenomenon of white people thinking and speaking about Native Americans as Southern whites used to talk about Blacks. There are no answers in this book but my understanding has deepened immensely.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't an easy read. Not because it isn't well written. It's written in an easy, intelligent style. It's hard to read because it's a truth most people neither know or would believe has happened in the bountiful, immigrant loving United States, where everyone has a Nintendo and a chance to become President. No, this book isn't about Africa, or Cambodia, it's about one of the United States of America.

Magnuson does pretty well at staying objective and letting the stories, no matter how upsetting, tell themselves. There's just enough distance here that I was able to read and not tear my hair out over the evils of history and injustice. Should be a must-read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-fiction that reads like fiction. This is high praise, not a back-handed compliment. By weaving historical events with Yellow Thunder's death in 1972, the author shows how the act was not an isolated incident. Also, I've read plenty about AIM and its members, but this book was especially helpful with my understanding of the spirit-of-the-times leading up to its glory days.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible and compulsive reading. I never knew much on the history of any Native American Indians, and was intrigued by the brief description on the back of this book. The author sweeps you up into the stories of the Nebraska border towns and gives you the background before the actual story of Raymond Yellow Thunder - a heartbreaking story that leads on to more heartbreaking stories - and takes you from the late 1800's right up to recently.
His writing is so easy to read, matter of fact and compassionate at the same time. It shrieks out the indignities and tragedies of Whiteclay and Gordon, explains the reasons for events and the futility of all the organizations supposedly dedicated to the rights of the Indians and to helping them.
The backdrop of the sacred Black Hills had been unknown to me, and the fact that President Coolidge authorized Mount Rushmore on one of the Lakota's sacred mountains (after the taking of the land years previously by the Government) made me feel it was all at such a cost.
The Indians' lack of employment opportunities, schooling, land and acceptance from the local town residents lead them down a path of alcoholism, depression, anger and violence. The local police were no better and seemed to shoot/attack first and ask questions later (if at all). Indians were treated worse than second-rate citizens, and all the Government did was to make the situation dire by taking their land, culture and livelihoods away from them - effectively stealing it right from under their feet.
This book recounts the history of well-known Native Indians such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and Red Cloud. He also shows how AIM and Russell Means came to Nebraska and became a part of the story. I learned so much from this book, and it has made me want to research more. This is definitely a book I'll read again, as the information is so tremendous and the work the author put into this really shows. Fabulous.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: Magnuson is an acquaintance of mine from his Cambodia days, around 10 years ago, but I've had only peripheral contact with him since.

Sometimes books that are based on extraordinary research throw too much detail at you. This one puts that detail in service of several closely related storylines, spanning two centuries and more. Characters are memorable, scenes are vivid, motivations are complex and realistic.
These are stories of the developing relationship between native Americans and whites, in and around what are now the town of Whiteclay and the Pine Ridge reservation. It's a complicated relationship, and Magnuson brings a satisfying measure of understanding without simplifying it. Recent events and those in the distant past are treated with equal weight as the author brings us back and forth in time.
It's a tribute to the role of history in creating the present, and a convincing answer to those who would propose a fresh start, without reference to the weight of that history. It's something that could be said about any uneasy relationship between peoples--the whole cloth of history is made of many threads, old and new.
These threads are woven together in a way that makes you feel you're in the presence of the people portrayed. You'll feel you've come to know them, as Magnuson clearly did. There are lapses in the momentum, but they are few and easily bridged. Strongly recommended.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched piece of history of Western Nebraska, primarily Gordon and the denizens to the North, the Oglala sioux Tribe. Fascinating to read events, circumstances and thoughts of the people involved in Stew's book. I personally know many of the characters---which makes it even more interesting--and I discovered there was a history inside some of the individuals I wasn't even aware of. For example: I worked alongside Bill Cross for four years and consider him a good friend. Bill spoke openly and bitterly of his brother's death by a Gordon policeman and of the death of his sister's baby after being kicked in the stomach by a police officer. However he never mentioned his association with AIM. Stew does a wonderful job of impartially telling a story that needed to be told and he did it with compassion and an emphatic frustration at the lack of progress made in correcting social wrongs toward the Native Americans of Pine Ridge.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes stories simply present themselves. Others need work to flush out. This one needed the work, and Stew Magnuson's exhaustive research brought this largely misrepresented and underreported history to light. Raymond Yellow Thunder serves as a catalyst for a historical review of white/Indian relations in Nebraska and the Sioux reservations. While not told in a strict, chronological fashion, the jumps in time take a moment to get used to, but once that is accomplished, the writing continually draws you in. In all, a well-written, informative and enlightening volume.
In his acknowledgements, the author said he wanted not to write an NY Times bestseller, but a book that people on both sides of the border would read. I hope they do.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnuson's book is an impressive undertaking - a history of 130 years in the life of the southern borders of Pine Ridge reservation and the border towns on the Nebraska side. His narrative twists and loops, moving back and forth between present and past, pulling in stories that perhaps, at first, seem like tangents until he connects and weaves them into a single whole. In places the book is a novel, peopled with imagined scenes from more than a century ago. In others Magnuson is eye-witness - his photographs pepper later pages of the book. Between times Magnuson's research is evident, his eye for the story keen, and his judgments as to the wisdom and efficacy of actions on each side of the border thoughtful. A fascinating work.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder is a book (as the title implies) about the interaction between Native Americans and Anglos in the area around the Pine Ridge Reservation/ Nebraska border. There are moments of cooperation and friendship, but the stories are overwhelmingly full of distrust, violence and sometimes outright hatred. What I enjoyed most about this book was the even handed manner in which Magnuson told the stories. No one was ever sainted, no one was ever demonized- he went to great lengths to hear and present stories from as many viewpoints as he could find. The result, I thought, was a well rounded, in depth look at this complicated, long running relationship.

[jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did a book review for this text and it is so well written you won't know if you are reading a novel or history. The terrible situation of Reservation Border towns is explored and the microcosm of these places represents the larger issue of how Native People are still so oppressed and "looked over" in our country. Excellent read.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am incensed by the behavior I read about in this book, mostly of the white residents around Pine Ridge. This book is so very readable and reports the events around south Pine Ridge, trying so hard to be unbiased but it must have been very hard not to slam the actions of some of the white residents of the area. I highly recommend this book.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to give this 4 based on the content alone. Jumping forward and back in time made this hard to follow in places but a very interesting tale on the lives of Indians on and near the Pine Ridge reservation.

[Robert Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

History, politics, racism, greed. Plus death and injustice. This book has it all. Stew Magnuson shines a light on Nebraska's snub-nose panhandle and exposes a shocking continuity of callous behavior. And he does so in concise and precise prose. Very well written and highly recommended.

[Barbara Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best nonfiction books I've read all year.

[Stew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best nonfiction book I've ever written!

[Jan Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

anamazing recounting of historical incidents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The author is from Stapleton, Nebraska.

[stellajames · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the author mixed history (150 years ago -+) into these stories. The writing is great. The book seems to give fair play to both sides of the border.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well presented book. The only issue I had was the choice of font size, it was small.
Granted it is a lot of information, but the type could have been bigger.

[Meno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history of the the ongoing impact of the settlement of sandhills of Nebraska on the Lakota, using much 1st person narrative from the people involved both native and immigrant.

[Robert Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

AIM had a big party at the Holiday Inn in Minneapolis with the 66K from the BIA takeover. They were after the Gildersleeves credit books and the destruction of the store at Wounded Knee caused problems for residents.They had telephone trees and a coterie of liberals to help them out who Magnuson accurately refers to as their friends.

[Colleen Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book describing the agonies and misunderstanding of cultural clashes on the borders of the rez. History and journalism, responsible, empathetic.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. A well-written and researched history of the area and events.

[John Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and cleverly constructed narrative history of White-Indian relations in Sheridan County.

[Steven Howes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a difficult one to read even though it was well -written and researched. It examines the death of Raymond Yellow Thunder in February, 1972, in the small town of Gordon, Nebraska located just south of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Deaths of intoxicated native Americans in the small towns bordering the Reservation were not isolated events. Yellow Thunder was not beaten to death outright but was roughed up, humiliated, and left to die in an old used car as he slept off his drinking binge. A number of locals and city officials were aware of where Raymond was but failed to render assistance. Raymond eventually died of injuries tied to his treatment by several white youths. At the time, AIM (American Indian Movement) was gaining traction and took up the Yellow Thunder death as a cause celeb which led to other cross-culture conflicts between whites and natives including the occupation of Wounded Knee a year later. It also led to significant disagreements between traditional and militant segments of the native population.

The author does an excellent job of examining the historical background that affected the thinking and actions of both the native and white communities; as well as the key players involved. He also discusses impacts the event has had on the communities and individuals involved since it occurred nearly forty years ago.

[Margie Kuzminski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite kind of book, and perfect for the topic, in which I have a particular interest (nineteenth century Plains Indians history). It has a journalistic approach to both history and current events, weaving the tapestry of their interconnectedness, so that yesterday(year) is right now. I'm interested in returning to the places described, now with a more informed and empathetic eye - not that many are tourist destinations, but if you road trip cross country, it's not unlikely to find yourself in striking distance of Gordon. I really, really liked this book, and it would be a phenomonal basis for an independent study class with a fairly refined focus.

[RyleeAnn Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5
This one was a slow read for me because it was pretty dense with information and names. Interesting information and important stories, but it sometimes felt disjointed and left me confused about what I just read because it would change to a completely different time period with completely different names. I did appreciate how the author told the stories as thoroughly as they could while also trying to remain impartial.

[Gregg Cosgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of things going on in this book. There are a lot of elements and a lot of history that get distilled down and laid out in a way that make it an enjoyable read. The author obviously did his research. I enjoyed especially the introductory “a brief note from the author.” I could easily have read another 300 pages of this work. I can’t speak highly enough about this book.

[Drew Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, although I personally wasn't crazy about the narrative nonfiction writing style, especially in the chapters that focus on 18th/19th century events/incidents. The author explains his reasoning behind this choice and includes his sources but I wish he would have also included footnotes/citations.