On Sunday, December 13th at 2:00 pm, educator, journalist and author Joseph Starita will present a program on the writing of his historical works, “I am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice” and “The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge: A Lakota Odyssey.” Starita, born in Lincoln, spent many years as a working journalist in other parts of the country, and after 13 years with the Miami Herald he returned to Nebraska in 1992 where he became a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
His first book was a family history following four generations of the Dull Knife family over a century. Family members figure prominently in events such as the Cheyenne break-out at Fort Robinson in 1878, the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, and even traveling with Bill Cody. The book received two Pulitzer Prize nominations, won the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association Award, and has been published in six foreign languages.
With his research on the Ponca chief, Standing Bear, and the landmark court case of 1879, Starita chronicles the series of events leading to the trial and the roles played by both Indian defendants and white supporters and prosecutors which gave new meaning to “justice for all.”
The program begins at 2:00 PM and is free and open to the public. A reception with refreshments will follow where the author’s books can be purchased for signing.
