Crow Dog, M. (1990). Lakota Woman. Grove Press.

BOOK REVIEW AUTHOR: Stefanie Ludahl, MSC ‘22

October 2021

SUMMARY: Lakota Woman is written by Mary Crow Dog and depicts her life as a Native American
woman. Her purpose of this book was to share history and actual facts from the point of view of Native
Americans, as our history skips over the true details. We learn from her point of view the struggles of
being a Native American and a woman. These struggles began with injustices brought upon by
government greed and the thought of “white supremacy”. This book highlights her determination to
fight through these struggles, from giving birth during what should be the largest U.S. massacre “The
Battle at Wounded Knee creek” to losing her best friend to murder that was covered up and ignored by
the police. Mary continued to fight for her rights and her culture. One important movement she was
involved in with her husband was the Ghost Dance revival, an important cultural right meant to connect
with the spirits. Mary refuses to give up her battle for her culture and way of life as well as honoring her
ancestors that were so wronged over the years. This book would be excellent in history classes or
political science classes to further understand the true struggles of Native Americans.

KEYWORDS/PHRASES: Action, Struggle, Determination, Strength, Change, Ghost Dance, Injustices

BOOK REVIEW:
Lakota Woman gives an in depth and personal look into the life as not only a Native American but a
Native American woman. If anyone could give insight about this topic Mary would be the person to
write about it. It makes valid and clear points about the deception of the government in various cover
ups, from murders to cruel treatment on reservations. This book can be hard to read due to the hard
nature of the facts surrounding all of the events so it may not be suitable for young ages. It also may
require some background knowledge on certain events or the ability to look into them while reading this
book. Lakota woman was also written in the 1990s so it depicts only events that Mary experienced up to
that point, for someone trying to learn about more recent events you may want supplemental readings.
However it still encompasses themes of the fight and struggle for basic human rights that we are seeing
today in BLM protests and fights that the Lakota are still battling today such as the Dakota Access
Pipeline. I feel Mary stated the facts and her experiences in a straightforward but engaging way, without
major bias. This book would be excellent in teaching about Native American history, political science
classes or diversity training. It might also be helpful in training for those working on reservations, social
workers or officers to further understand the issues Native Americans face.
“The thing to keep in mind is that laws are framed by those who happen to be in power and for the
purpose of keeping them in power.”- Mary Crow Dog
This was my favorite quote from the entire book, it is so powerful and true to this day as we see women
fight for their rights, BLM fight for African American rights, DACA recipients and immigrants fight for
their rights, this quote is from the 1990’s but even 30 years later is relevant to social issues today. That is
why I think political science classes would benefit greatly from this book. A perspective that they might
not have thought about otherwise when creating laws, but one that is equally as important as theirs.
Though it feels more of a personal memoir than a typical training book, it still provides excellent insight
and could be greatly utilized in many settings. I would recommend this book to others to educate
themselves in the full and true history of the United States. I think this would make an excellent part of
US History courses, in high school and college, to provide a different view of what was happening in the
US. For an example, my AP US History class in high school could have benefited greatly from hearing
more truth from Natives rather than just the white washed version of events. It could easily be worked
into the curriculum and have questions on the actual test. This would open students up to a more
diverse mindset at an earlier age and allow them to go into college being able to think in a broader
mindset.

1. what is it?
A book review of Lakota Woman.
2. by whom was it produced? (aka acknowledge if it was a group project or
solely created by you)
Created by me
3. when was it produced?
October 2021
4. why was it produced? (aka what was the assignment)
To review a book on its relevance to teaching a course and the author’s overall
knowledge of the topic they are writing about.
5. what is it intended to show? (i.e.what learning outcomes does it represent
and/or what skills, tool, or technique did you develop? what did you learn from
its production?)
The learning outcome was to educate the public on the history of native americans from
their voice. I learned that History courses could use a more diverse teaching tools, not
just those written by main stream publishers and to keep an open mind to all sides of
history.
6. Keywords (optional)
Action, Struggle, Determination, Strength, Change, Ghost Dance, Injustices