Mary Brave Bird | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Ellen Moore-Richard (1954-09-26)September 26, 1954[1] |
| Died | February 14, 2013(2013-02-14) (aged 58) |
| Nationality | Rosebud Sioux Tribe, American |
| Other names | Mary Crow Dog Ohitika Win Brave Woman Mary Brave Woman Olguin |
| Occupation(s) | Author andActivist |
| Known for | Lakota Woman American Indian Movement |
| Movement | American Indian Movement (AIM) |
| Spouse(s) | Leonard Crow Dog (divorced) Rudi Olguin (separated) |
| Children |
|
| Awards | American Book Award |
Mary Brave Bird, also known asMary Brave Woman Olguin andMary Crow Dog (September 26, 1954 – February 14, 2013[2]) was aSicanguLakota writer and activist who was a member of theAmerican Indian Movement during the 1970s and participated in some of their most publicized events, including theWounded Knee Incident when she was 18 years old.
Brave Bird lived with her youngest children on theRosebud Indian Reservation,South Dakota. Her 1990 memoirLakota Woman won anAmerican Book Award in 1991, became anational bestseller, and was adapted as a made-for-TV-movie in 1994.
BornMary Ellen Moore-Richard in 1954 on theRosebud Indian Reservation,South Dakota, she was a member of theSicangu Oyate, also known as the Burnt Thighs Nation orBrulé Band ofLakota.[3] She was raised primarily by her grandparents while her mother studied in nursing school and was working.[4]
Brave Bird was influenced by several relatives who followed traditional practices, including her granduncle Dick Fool Bull, who introduced her to theNative American Church. During the 1960s, Brave Bird attended the St. Francis Indian School, inSt. Francis, South Dakota, a Roman Catholic boarding school.[4] While attending, she published a newspaper revealing the nature of how the school abused and stripped the students of their native culture. As punishment, Brave Bird was beaten by the teachers.[5]
In 1971 Brave Bird was inspired by a talk byLeonard Crow Dog and at age 18 joined theAmerican Indian Movement (AIM).[4] She participated in such historical events as the 1972Trail of Broken Treaties and subsequent occupation of theBIA headquarters in Washington, DC. She was also part of the 1973Occupation of Wounded Knee.[4]
Brave Bird married AIM spiritual leaderLeonard Crow Dog; the couple later divorced.[3] In 1991, she married Rudy Olguin, they had Summer Olguin in 1991 and later their second, Rudy Olguin.[4][6] She had six children in total. She was a grandmother and remained active in the Native American Church.[7]
Brave Bird was the author of two memoirs,Lakota Woman (1990) andOhitika Woman (1993), and a shortlived newspaper when she was in a boarding school. Richard Erdoes, a long-time friend, helped edit the books.Lakota Woman was published under the name Mary Crow Dog and won the 1991American Book Award. It describes her life until 1977.[4]Ohitika Woman continues her life story.
Her books describe the conditions of theLakota Indian and her experience growing up on theRosebud Indian Reservation inSouth Dakota, conditions in the neighboringPine Ridge Indian Reservation under the leadership of tribal chairmanRichard Wilson, and how life as a native was in Rapid City. She also covers aspects of the role of theFBI, theU.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.[8]
Crow Dog and Brave Bird made cameo appearances in the 1991 Oliver Stone filmThe Doors.[7]
Brave Bird's memoir was adapted as the 1994 movieLakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee, produced byTNT andJane Fonda. The film starredIrene Bedard as Mary Brave Bird. The movie depicted theevents that occurred during the 1973 uprising of the AIM (American Indian Movement) organization and their stand-off atWounded Knee. Brave Bird has a cameo appearance in the film.[7]
