Cover art from Witness by Josephine Waggoner, edited by Emily Levine, University of Nebraska Press 2013.
Probably the most important book published in recent years relating to the early history of Standing Rock and its people, the prodigious and pricey volume (It would be great if Nebraska Press could publish more affordable eBook and paperback versions) is a must that brings together much of the material by historian and tribal member Josephine Waggoner. Waggoner's life tracks right along with the stories she recorded, as one who experienced the transition from pre-reservation to reservation life. Her voice is an important one as a Lakota woman.
Editor Emily Levine, who presented her work here at the college just after publication, has done great work combining text and photographs into a seamless whole in the beautifully crafted volume. Waggoner struggled to publish the material in her own time and the materials languished for over half a century until the project was taken on by Levine. The story of her manuscripts is a strange and convoluted tale that Levine recounts in the book as well. Levine notes, some of the missing materials from Waggoner's manuscripts are yet to be found. Hopefully, yet more stories from this important early recorder of Standing Rock's history will come to the surface one day.