It is a massive, heavy brick of a book. Honestly, if you pick up a copy of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, the first thing you notice isn't the prose or the politics—it’s the sheer weight of it. Peter Matthiessen didn't just write a history; he dropped an investigative bomb on the American legal system that stayed in the courts for nearly a decade before it could even be sold freely.
You’ve probably heard of Leonard Peltier. Or maybe you haven't. That’s kinda the point of why this book exists.
Back in the late 1970s and early 80s, Matthiessen—who was already a literary heavyweight and a co-founder of The Paris Review—went deep into the Pine Ridge Reservation. He wasn't looking for a quick headline. He spent years untangling the 1975 shootout at Oglala, where two FBI agents and one Native American man died. What he found wasn't just a "police matter." It was a war.
The Legal War Over the Truth
Most people don't realize that In the Spirit of Crazy Horse was effectively banned for years. Not by a government decree, but by a massive libel lawsuit. A former FBI agent and a governor of South Dakota sued Matthiessen and his publisher, Viking Press, for millions. They wanted the book erased. They failed.
The courts eventually threw the cases out, citing the First Amendment, but the damage was sort of done. The book was pulled from shelves during the litigation. It became a ghost. When it finally resurfaced in the early 90s, it felt less like a piece of journalism and more like a manifesto for a movement that the rest of the country was trying to forget.
Matthiessen writes with a specific kind of controlled rage. He isn't unbiased. He’s the first to tell you that. He saw a pattern of "low-intensity warfare" on American soil and decided to document every single bullet hole and court transcript.
What Actually Happened at Oglala?
To understand the book, you have to understand the June day in 1975 that changed everything. Two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, drove onto the Jumping Bull ranch in unmarked cars. They were looking for a man named Jimmy Eagle over a pair of stolen boots.
👉 See also: When Was Kai Cenat Born? What You Didn't Know About His Early Life
That’s the official story.
What followed was a chaotic gunfight with members of the American Indian Movement (AIM). By the time the smoke cleared, the two agents were dead, executed at close range. Joe Stuntz, a young Native man, was also dead, shot by a sniper.
Matthiessen meticulously reconstructs the trial of Leonard Peltier, the man eventually convicted of the murders. He points out the messy stuff: the coerced affidavits, the ballistic evidence that didn't quite line up, and the fact that two other men, Bob Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted of the same charges on the grounds of self-defense in a separate trial.
It’s confusing. It’s murky. It’s exactly why the book is 600-plus pages long.
Why Crazy Horse is the Central Figure (Even Though He’s Dead)
The title isn't just a marketing gimmick. Crazy Horse, the Oglala Lakota war leader who never allowed his picture to be taken and was killed at Fort Robinson in 1877, serves as the spiritual anchor for the entire narrative.
Matthiessen argues that the 1970s struggle wasn't a new conflict. It was the same one.
✨ Don't miss: Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family: What You Didn't Know About Morticia
The author weaves a thread from the 19th-century Plains Wars directly to the "Reign of Terror" on Pine Ridge in the 70s. He talks about the traditional Lakota—the "traditionals"—who resisted the federally recognized tribal government led by Dick Wilson and his "GOON" (Guardians of the Oglala Nation) squads.
It sounds like a movie plot. It wasn't. People were being found dead in ditches. Elders were being harassed. The American Indian Movement was called in to protect the people, and that tension is what eventually exploded at the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation and later at Oglala.
The Problem with Matthiessen’s Lens
Now, being a real expert means looking at the flaws, too. Some critics, including some within the Native community, have argued that Matthiessen—a white New York intellectual—occasionally romanticized the struggle.
There are moments where the prose gets a bit purple. He’s a novelist at heart. Sometimes he trusts his sources a little too much without enough skepticism. However, even his harsreed critics usually admit that no one else was doing this level of granular, boots-on-the-ground reporting at the time. He gave a voice to people who were being systematically silenced by the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations.
The Lasting Legacy of the Book
If you go to a protest involving indigenous rights today—whether it's at Standing Rock or a climate march—you will likely see a "Free Leonard Peltier" shirt.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse is the reason that movement has survived for forty years. It turned a legal case into a human rights cause. It forced the public to look at the "Incident at Oglala" (which was also the name of a documentary Matthiessen worked on with Robert Redford) as something more complex than a simple criminal act.
🔗 Read more: Isaiah Washington Movies and Shows: Why the Star Still Matters
Peltier is still in prison. He’s in his 80s now. Every few years, there’s a push for clemency. Every time, the FBI holds a firm line against it. The book remains the primary text for anyone trying to understand why this case refuses to go away.
How to Approach This Massive Text
Don't try to read it in one sitting. You'll get lost in the names of the agents and the various AIM members.
- Start with the historical chapters. Matthiessen does an incredible job setting the stage by explaining the Black Hills land claims.
- Keep a map handy. Understanding the geography of the Jumping Bull ranch makes the shootout chapters way more coherent.
- Pay attention to the footnotes. Some of the wildest revelations about government surveillance are tucked away in the fine print.
The book is basically a masterclass in investigative journalism. It shows how one event can be a prism for an entire nation's history. It’s messy, it’s controversial, and it’s deeply uncomfortable.
Actionable Next Steps for Readers
If you want to actually digest this book and the history it represents, don't just read the last page and put it on a shelf.
- Compare the accounts. Read In the Spirit of Crazy Horse alongside the FBI's official summaries of the Oglala investigation. The discrepancies are where the real learning happens.
- Research the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The book hinges on the legal status of the Black Hills. Understanding the treaty gives you the "why" behind the "what."
- Check the updates. Look for the 1992 edition or later. The epilogue in newer versions covers the legal battles Matthiessen faced just to get the book back into print, which is a story in itself.
- Listen to the voices. Seek out contemporary interviews with AIM elders like the late Russell Means or John Trudell. Matthiessen captures their words, but hearing the cadence of their actual voices adds a layer of reality that text can't quite hit.
Understanding this book isn't just about learning facts. It’s about realizing that history isn't something that happened "back then"—it’s something that is still being litigated, fought over, and lived every day on the reservations of the Dakotas.