Description
Book SynopsisFor over 150 years the Lakota have tenaciously defended their culture and land against white miners, settlers, missionaries, and the U.S. Army, and paid the price. Their economy is in shambles and they face serious social issues, but their culture and outlook remain vibrant. Basketball has a role to play in the way that people on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation configure their hopes for a better future, and for pride in their community.
In
Lakota Hoops, anthropologist Alan Klein trains his experienced eye on the ways that Lakota traditions find a seamless expression in the sport. In a variety of way such as weaving time-honored religious practices into the game or extending the warrior spirit of Crazy Horse to the players on the court, basketball has become a preferred way of finding continuity with the past. But the game is also well suited to the present and has become the largest regular gathering for all Lakota, promoting national pride as well as a venue for the community to creatively and aggressively confront white bigotry when needed.
Richly researched and filled with interviews with Pine Ridge residents, including both male and female players,
Lakota Hoops offers a compelling look at the highs and lows of a community that has made basketball its own.
Trade Review"Basketball is so much more than just a game; it is a cultural resource that allows the Pine Ridge community to express their identity against a social landscape of poverty, racism, and domination. In
Lakota Hoops, Klein provides an important statement about sport in Indian Country, sketching out the larger structural landscape in which the actions of some Lakota basketball players unfold. In learning about the individuals, we learn the logic behind their actions and how they interact with the larger context of ongoing US colonization of native lands." -- Jeffery Montez de Oca * author of Discipline and Indulgence *
"I've long thought that Alan Klein might be the most important anthropologist of sport in our midst.
Lakota Hoops confirms that. Unflinchingly honest, brilliantly argued, and gracefully written, it's a tour de force about sport, Lakota culture, and a reality this nation has yet to fully confront." -- Rob Ruck * Tropic of Football: The Long and Perilous Journey of Samoans to the NFL *
Alan Klein interview with Ramon Maclin about
Lakota Hoops * Alan Klein interview with Ramon Maclin *
Basketball is so much more than just a game; it is a cultural resource that allows the Pine Ridge community to express their identity against a social landscape of poverty, racism, and domination. In
Lakota Hoops, Klein provides an important statement about sport in Indian Country, sketching out the larger structural landscape in which the actions of some Lakota basketball players unfold. In learning about the individuals, we learn the logic behind their actions and how they interact with the larger context of ongoing US colonization of native lands. -- Jeffery Montez de Oca * author of Discipline and Indulgence *
I've long thought that Alan Klein might be the most important anthropologist of sport in our midst.
Lakota Hoops confirms that. Unflinchingly honest, brilliantly argued, and gracefully written, it's a tour de force about sport, Lakota culture, and a reality this nation has yet to fully confront. -- Rob Ruck * Tropic of Football: The Long and Perilous Journey of Samoans to the NFL *
Alan Klein interview with Ramon Maclin about
Lakota Hoops * Alan Klein interview with Ramon Maclin *
Table of ContentsPreface
Chapter 1: Landmarks in Lakota Life
THE GOOD Chapter 2: SWEATING, SMUDGING, AND SUN DANCING: Dusty LeBeau’s Fusion of Basketball and Tradition
Chapter 3: THE LAKOTA NATION INVITATIONAL: Bryan Brewer’s Invented Tradition
Chapter 4: “MANNING UP:” Jess Heart, Lakota Manhood and Hoops
Chapter 5: LAURA BIG CROW: Coming Back, to Pass It Forward
THE BAD Chapter 6: PINE RIDGE - RED CLOUD RIVALRY: The Tip of a Factional Ice Berg
Chapter 7: CRABS IN A BUCKET: Lakota Factionalism and Basketball
THE UGLY Chapter 8: ENGAGING ACRIMONY: Racism and Lakota Basketball in South Dakota
Index
