In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (book)
Encyclopedia
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse is a book by author Peter Matthiesen chronicling the tumultuous history between the Sioux
and the United States government, with emphasis on contemporary events on the Sioux reservations of South Dakota. He focused on the events of the 1970s on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
. This included the Wounded Knee Incident
, a 71-day, armed stand-off between federal and state agents, and members of the American Indian Movement
(AIM), an activist group, and their Oglala
Lakota supporters at Wounded Knee
. Two Native Americans were killed and a Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agent seriously wounded. Matthiessen features the AIM activist Leonard Peltier
, through his involvement in the 1975 "Pine Ridge Shootout," in which two FBI agents were killed; his later trial and conviction; and the controversies surrounding the case.
Bill Janklow
, the former Republican
state attorney general and governor of South Dakota, and David Price, an agent with the FBI, filed libel suits against Viking Press for contents of the book. Janklow also filed a suit against the author Matthiessen. In an unusual action, he filed a suit against three South Dakota booksellers for selling copies of the book. Viking Press filed a countersuit against Janklow, which in part alleged he had interfered with the company's constitutional rights to publish and distribute the book. The lawsuits prevented the book from being published in paperback for eight years. The rulings supported the author's and publisher's rights of free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution
, and the booksellers' rights to sell books.
The book was finally published in paperback in 1992 after the libel suits were dismissed by the various courts and their respective decisions affirmed upon appeal. The lawsuits and their attendant rulings have become important and oft-cited cases in the area of Media law and freedom of speech. Due to the intense publicity generated by the lawsuits, the paperback version of the book became a bestseller.
. Bill Janklow
, the former Republican
governor of South Dakota, filed a $24 million lawsuit in South Dakota. He also sued three booksellers in South Dakota who had sold hardcover copies of the book. This case was watched because of its repressive aspects related to bookselling.
Janklow's suit was based upon one paragraph in the book: it has statements by the AIM leader Dennis Banks
referring to the rape allegations made against Janklow by Jacinta Eagle Deer
, a young Brulé Lakota on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
. Banks also noted Janklow's arrest for driving drunk and nude on the Crow Creek Reservation
in South Dakota in 1973.
Janklow filed a separate lawsuit against Newsweek
magazine (Janklow v. Newsweek, 788 F2d 1300) for an article that contained the disputed passage. In his complaint, referring to the statement by Banks about rape, Janklow "cited a 1975 letter from Philip Buchen, head of the Office of Counsel to the President of the United States, to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, saying that three Federal investigations found the allegations against him 'simply unfounded.' The Senate committee was considering Mr. Janklow's nomination as a director of the Legal Services Corporation..."
Viking Press filed a countersuit against Janklow in the Southern District of New York; in part it alleged that Janklow had interfered with the company's constitutional rights to publish and distribute the book. A South Dakota circuit court ruled that the book was not defamatory and terminated Janklow's lawsuit in 1984; upon Janklow's appeal of the ruling, the South Dakota State Supreme Court reinstated the case in 1985.
David Price, an FBI agent who was at the Wounded Knee incident, filed two identical lawsuits against Viking: one in South Dakota state court (Price v. Viking Press, Inc., Civ. No. 84-448) and an identical suit (Price v. Viking Press, Inc., 625 F. Supp. 641) in federal court, seeking $25 million in United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. The case was transferred to a federal court in Minnesota.
The lawyers representing both Matthiesen and Viking Press in the federal suit in Minnesota were noted First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus
of Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, New York City with Barbara F.L. Penn, St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the Minnesota case, Federal District Court Judge Diana E. Murphy dismissed the Price suit. Her 33-page ruling noted: "Viking recognized that responsible publishing companies owe some duty to the public to undertake difficult but important works." Janklow's case in South Dakota was similarly dismissed. In both cases both the author and publisher were deemed to have been protected by the free speech clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution
. It was noted that Matthiessen's book was clearly one with an opinion.
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...
and the United States government, with emphasis on contemporary events on the Sioux reservations of South Dakota. He focused on the events of the 1970s on the 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...
. This included 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...
, a 71-day, armed stand-off between federal and state agents, and members 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...
(AIM), an activist group, and their Oglala
Oglala
Oglala may refer to:* Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, a Sioux Nation sub-band of the Western division * The Oglala National Grassland of Nebraska* Oglala, South Dakota, a town located in Shannon County, South Dakota...
Lakota supporters at Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Wounded Knee is a census-designated place in Shannon County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 382 at the 2010 census....
. Two Native Americans were killed and a Federal Bureau of Investigation
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...
(FBI) agent seriously wounded. Matthiessen features the AIM activist Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement . In 1977 he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for first degree murder in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine...
, through his involvement in the 1975 "Pine Ridge Shootout," in which two FBI agents were killed; his later trial and conviction; and the controversies surrounding the case.
Bill Janklow
Bill Janklow
William John "Bill" Janklow served as the 25th Attorney General of South Dakota, before being elected as South Dakota's 27th and 30th Governor, as well as to the United States House of Representatives where he served for a little more than a year. A Republican, Janklow's career has continued as a...
, the former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
state attorney general and governor of South Dakota, and David Price, an agent with the FBI, filed libel suits against Viking Press for contents of the book. Janklow also filed a suit against the author Matthiessen. In an unusual action, he filed a suit against three South Dakota booksellers for selling copies of the book. Viking Press filed a countersuit against Janklow, which in part alleged he had interfered with the company's constitutional rights to publish and distribute the book. The lawsuits prevented the book from being published in paperback for eight years. The rulings supported the author's and publisher's rights of free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, and the booksellers' rights to sell books.
Reception
The book was critically well received. Most scholars praised Matthiessen's veracity and accuracy,and the author's support of Peltier, AIM, and the Oglala Sioux were acknowledged and appreciated by the above parties.The book was finally published in paperback in 1992 after the libel suits were dismissed by the various courts and their respective decisions affirmed upon appeal. The lawsuits and their attendant rulings have become important and oft-cited cases in the area of Media law and freedom of speech. Due to the intense publicity generated by the lawsuits, the paperback version of the book became a bestseller.
Lawsuits
After publication of the book, two plaintiffs filed libel suits against Viking PressViking Press
Viking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
. Bill Janklow
Bill Janklow
William John "Bill" Janklow served as the 25th Attorney General of South Dakota, before being elected as South Dakota's 27th and 30th Governor, as well as to the United States House of Representatives where he served for a little more than a year. A Republican, Janklow's career has continued as a...
, the former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
governor of South Dakota, filed a $24 million lawsuit in South Dakota. He also sued three booksellers in South Dakota who had sold hardcover copies of the book. This case was watched because of its repressive aspects related to bookselling.
Janklow's suit was based upon one paragraph in the book: it has statements by the AIM leader Dennis Banks
Dennis Banks
Dennis Banks , a Native American leader, teacher, lecturer, activist and author, is an Anishinaabe born on Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Banks is also known as Nowa Cumig...
referring to the rape allegations made against Janklow by Jacinta Eagle Deer
Jacinta Eagle Deer
Jacinta Eagle Deer was a Brulé Lakota who lived on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She was notable for accusing William Janklow of having raped her in January 1967 when he was a poverty lawyer and Director of the Rosebud Sioux Legal Services program on the reservation. She had...
, a young Brulé Lakota 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...
. Banks also noted Janklow's arrest for driving drunk and nude on the Crow Creek Reservation
Crow Creek Reservation
The Crow Creek Indian Reservation is located in parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties on the east bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota in the United States. It has a land area of 421.658 sq mi and a 2000 census population of 2,225 persons...
in South Dakota in 1973.
Janklow filed a separate lawsuit against Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine (Janklow v. Newsweek, 788 F2d 1300) for an article that contained the disputed passage. In his complaint, referring to the statement by Banks about rape, Janklow "cited a 1975 letter from Philip Buchen, head of the Office of Counsel to the President of the United States, to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, saying that three Federal investigations found the allegations against him 'simply unfounded.' The Senate committee was considering Mr. Janklow's nomination as a director of the Legal Services Corporation..."
Viking Press filed a countersuit against Janklow in the Southern District of New York; in part it alleged that Janklow had interfered with the company's constitutional rights to publish and distribute the book. A South Dakota circuit court ruled that the book was not defamatory and terminated Janklow's lawsuit in 1984; upon Janklow's appeal of the ruling, the South Dakota State Supreme Court reinstated the case in 1985.
David Price, an FBI agent who was at the Wounded Knee incident, filed two identical lawsuits against Viking: one in South Dakota state court (Price v. Viking Press, Inc., Civ. No. 84-448) and an identical suit (Price v. Viking Press, Inc., 625 F. Supp. 641) in federal court, seeking $25 million in United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. The case was transferred to a federal court in Minnesota.
The lawyers representing both Matthiesen and Viking Press in the federal suit in Minnesota were noted First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus
Martin Garbus
Martin Garbus is an American attorney. He has tried cases throughout the country involving constitutional, criminal, copyright, and intellectual property law. He has appeared before the United States Supreme Court as well as trial and appellate courts throughout the United States...
of Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, New York City with Barbara F.L. Penn, St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the Minnesota case, Federal District Court Judge Diana E. Murphy dismissed the Price suit. Her 33-page ruling noted: "Viking recognized that responsible publishing companies owe some duty to the public to undertake difficult but important works." Janklow's case in South Dakota was similarly dismissed. In both cases both the author and publisher were deemed to have been protected by the free speech clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. It was noted that Matthiessen's book was clearly one with an opinion.
External links
- Price v. Viking Press, Inc., 625 F.Supp. 641, 12 Media L. Rep. 1689 (D.Minn., 1985)http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/pricevvikingpressinc625FSupp641.htm