Mary Crow Dog
Encyclopedia
Mary Brave Bird, also known as Mary Brave Woman Olguin and Mary Crow Dog (born 1953) is a Brulé
Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement
during the 1970s and participated in some of their most publicized events, including the Wounded Knee Incident
when she was 20 years old.
Brave Bird lives with her youngest children on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
, South Dakota
). Her 1990 memoir Lakota Woman won an American Book Award
in 1991 and was adapted as a made-for-TV-movie in 1994.
, South Dakota
. She is a member of the Sicangu Oyate, also known as the Burnt Thighs Nation or Brulé
Band of Lakota. She was raised primarily by her grandparents while her mother studied in nursing school and was working. Brave Bird was influenced by several relatives who followed traditional practices, including her granduncle Dick Fool Bull, who introduced her to the Native American Church
.
During the 1960s, Brave Bird attended the St. Francis Indian School, in St. Francis, South Dakota
, a Roman Catholic boarding school.
and at age 18 joined the American Indian Movement
(AIM). She participated in such historical events as the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties
and subsequent occupation of the BIA
headquarters in Washington, DC. She was also part of the 1973 Occupation of Wounded Knee
.
Brave Bird later married AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog
. Together the couple had two sons, Anwah and June Bug, and a daughter, Jennifer. Brave Bird divorced Leonard Crow Dog.
In 1991, she married Rudi Olguin, and they had a daughter Summer Rose and a son Rudi. Olguin and Brave Bird parted. She lives in Rosebud, South Dakota
with her youngest children. She is a grandmother and is still active in the Native American Church.
(1990) and Ohitika Woman (1993). Richard Erdoes, a long time friend, helped edit the books. Lakota Woman was published under the name Mary Crow Dog and won the 1991 American Book Award
. It describes her life until 1977. Ohitika Woman continues her life story.
Brave Bird's books describe the conditions of the Sioux
Indian and her experience growing up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
in South Dakota
, as well as conditions in the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
under the leadership of tribal chairman, Richard Wilson
. She also covers aspects of the role of the FBI
, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the treatment of the Native Americans and their children in the mid-1900s. Her work focuses on themes of gender, identity, and race.
Crow Dog and Brave Bird made cameo appearances in the 1991 Oliver Stone film, The Doors
.
, produced by TNT and Jane Fonda
. The film starred Irene Bedard
as Mary Brave Bird. The movie depicted the events that occurred
during the 1973 uprising of the AIM (American Indian Movement
) organization and their stand-off at Wounded Knee
. Brave Bird has a cameo appearance in the film.
Brulé
The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands of the Teton Lakota Sioux American Indian nation. They are known as Sičháŋǧu Oyáte , or "Burnt Thighs Nation," and so, were called Brulé by the French...
Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
during the 1970s and participated in some of their most publicized events, including the Wounded Knee Incident
Wounded Knee Incident
The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when about 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...
when she was 20 years old.
Brave Bird lives with her youngest children on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
Rosebud Indian Reservation
The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate, also known as Sicangu Lakota, the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe , a branch of the Lakota people...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
). Her 1990 memoir Lakota Woman won an American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
in 1991 and was adapted as a made-for-TV-movie in 1994.
Early life and education
Mary Ellen Brave Bird was born in 1953 on the Rosebud Indian ReservationRosebud Indian Reservation
The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate, also known as Sicangu Lakota, the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe , a branch of the Lakota people...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. She is a member of the Sicangu Oyate, also known as the Burnt Thighs Nation or Brulé
Brulé
The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands of the Teton Lakota Sioux American Indian nation. They are known as Sičháŋǧu Oyáte , or "Burnt Thighs Nation," and so, were called Brulé by the French...
Band of Lakota. She was raised primarily by her grandparents while her mother studied in nursing school and was working. Brave Bird was influenced by several relatives who followed traditional practices, including her granduncle Dick Fool Bull, who introduced her to the Native American Church
Native American Church
Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
.
During the 1960s, Brave Bird attended the St. Francis Indian School, in St. Francis, South Dakota
St. Francis, South Dakota
St. Francis is a town on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, a Roman Catholic boarding school.
Career
In 1971 Brave Bird was inspired by a talk by Leonard Crow DogLeonard Crow Dog
Leonard Crow Dog is a Sicangu Lakota medicine man and spiritual leader who became well-known during the takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973 known as the Wounded Knee Incident. Through his writings and teachings he has sought to unify...
and at age 18 joined the American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
(AIM). She participated in such historical events as the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties
Trail of Broken Treaties
The Trail of Broken Treaties was a cross-country protest in the United States by American Indian and First Nations organizations that took place in the autumn of 1972...
and subsequent occupation of the BIA
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
headquarters in Washington, DC. She was also part of the 1973 Occupation of Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee Incident
The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when about 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...
.
Marriage and family
Brave Bird's first child Pedro was born during the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee, the only one born there. For her bravery, two medicine men gave her the name Ohitaki Win or Brave Woman.Brave Bird later married AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog
Leonard Crow Dog
Leonard Crow Dog is a Sicangu Lakota medicine man and spiritual leader who became well-known during the takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973 known as the Wounded Knee Incident. Through his writings and teachings he has sought to unify...
. Together the couple had two sons, Anwah and June Bug, and a daughter, Jennifer. Brave Bird divorced Leonard Crow Dog.
In 1991, she married Rudi Olguin, and they had a daughter Summer Rose and a son Rudi. Olguin and Brave Bird parted. She lives in Rosebud, South Dakota
Rosebud, South Dakota
Rosebud is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,587 at the 2010 census.Rosebud, located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, is the home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Headquarters...
with her youngest children. She is a grandmother and is still active in the Native American Church.
Writing career
Brave Bird is the author of two memoirs, Lakota WomanLakota Woman
Lakota Woman is a memoir by Mary Brave Bird, formerly Mary Crow Dog, a Sicangu Lakota. Reared on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, she describes her childhood and young adulthood, which included many historical events associated with the American Indian Movement.Lakota Woman describes...
(1990) and Ohitika Woman (1993). Richard Erdoes, a long time friend, helped edit the books. Lakota Woman was published under the name Mary Crow Dog and won the 1991 American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
. It describes her life until 1977. Ohitika Woman continues her life story.
Brave Bird's books describe the conditions of the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Indian and her experience growing up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
Rosebud Indian Reservation
The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate, also known as Sicangu Lakota, the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe , a branch of the Lakota people...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, as well as conditions in the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
under the leadership of tribal chairman, Richard Wilson
Dick Wilson
Dick Wilson, born Riccardo DiGuglielmo , was a British-born American character actor who played the role of finicky grocery store manager Mr...
. She also covers aspects of the role of the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the treatment of the Native Americans and their children in the mid-1900s. Her work focuses on themes of gender, identity, and race.
Crow Dog and Brave Bird made cameo appearances in the 1991 Oliver Stone film, The Doors
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...
.
Movie
Brave Bird's memoir was adapted as the 1994 movie Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded KneeLakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee
Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee is a 1994 TNT original movie starring Irene Bedard, Tantoo Cardinal, Pato Hoffmann, Joseph Runningfox, Lawrence Bayne, and Michael Horse and August Schellenberg....
, produced by TNT and Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
. The film starred Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Native American characters in a variety of films. Bedard was born in Anchorage, Alaska...
as Mary Brave Bird. The movie depicted the events that occurred
Wounded Knee Incident
The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when about 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...
during the 1973 uprising of the AIM (American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
) organization and their stand-off at Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee Incident
The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when about 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...
. Brave Bird has a cameo appearance in the film.
Published works
- Brave Bird, Mary, with Richard Erdoes. Ohitika Woman. New York: Grove Press, 1993.
- Crow Dog, Mary, with Richard Erdoes. Lakota Woman. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990.