NOTABLE ARKANSANS

He was born in Louisiana in 1908; at age 5 his father died. His mother moved the family to Stephens (Ouachita County) Arkansas, where she became postmaster. They lived with his grandmother, who told him stories of her father’s acquaintance with Davy Crocket. He would later write a book greatly influenced by those stories.

In 1924 the family moved to Little Rock where he attended high school. He, along with a Creek American Indian buddy, became friends with an Arkansas Travelers baseball player, Moses “Chief” Yellowhorse. Their friendship caused his rejection of the American popular culture depiction of American Indians as primitive and savage.

He received degrees that led to his becoming a professional librarian, at first with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and, during World War II, the U.S. Department of War. He then was the librarian for the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture for 24 years, while writing several books.

He returned to Arkansas and spent the rest of his life writing. The majority of his writing was about the American West, written from a different perspective from what was traditionally portrayed. That perspective did not always meet a welcoming audience. He wrote about how the life and customs of American Indians were changed during westward expansion by the white man. His best-selling book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, dramatically changed forever the way the American public regards American Indians.

Notable Arkansans is written by Steve Stephens and produced by Clyde Snider.

Who was this famous writer of 29 books, who many erroneously think was an American Indian?

Who was this famous writer of 29 books, who many erroneously think was an American Indian?