Description
In 1953 young surgeon Robert H. Ruby began work as the chief medical officer at the hospital on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He began writing almost daily to his sister, describing the Oglala Lakota people he served, his Bureau of Indian Affairs colleagues, and day-to-day life on the reservation. Ruby and his wife were active in the social life of the non-white community, which allowed Ruby, also a self-trained ethnographer, to write in detail about the Oglala Lakota people and their culture, covering topics such as religion, art, traditions, and values. His frank and personal depiction of conditions he encountered on the reservation examines poverty, alcoholism, the educational system, and employment conditions and opportunities. Ruby also wrote critically of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, describing the bureaucracy that made it difficult for him to do his job and kept his hospital permanently understaffed and undersupplied. These engaging letters provide a compelling memoir of life at Pine Ridge in the mid-1950s.
A collection of letters describing the day-to-day work and experiences of a doctor at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the mid-1950s
About the Author
Robert H. Ruby (1921-2013) is the author of numerous books, including Oglala Sioux: Warriors in Transition, available in a Bison Books edition. Cary C. Collins is the editor of Assimilation's Agent: My Life as a Superintendent in the Indian Boarding School System (Nebraska 2007) and Oglala Sioux: Warriors in Transition, available in a Bison Books edition. Charles V. Mutschler is the university archivist at the Eastern Washington University Archives and the author of Wired for Success: The Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railway, 1892-1985.
Reviews
""These letters provide a unique glimpse into life at Pine Ridge as well as insights into the daily workings of the IHS.""-M.J. Schneider, CHOICE
Book Information
ISBN 9780803226258
Author Robert H. Ruby
Format Hardback
Page Count 448
Imprint University of Nebraska Press
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
A collection of letters describing the day-to-day work and experiences of a doctor at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the mid-1950s
About the Author
Robert H. Ruby (1921-2013) is the author of numerous books, including Oglala Sioux: Warriors in Transition, available in a Bison Books edition. Cary C. Collins is the editor of Assimilation's Agent: My Life as a Superintendent in the Indian Boarding School System (Nebraska 2007) and Oglala Sioux: Warriors in Transition, available in a Bison Books edition. Charles V. Mutschler is the university archivist at the Eastern Washington University Archives and the author of Wired for Success: The Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railway, 1892-1985.
Reviews
""These letters provide a unique glimpse into life at Pine Ridge as well as insights into the daily workings of the IHS.""-M.J. Schneider, CHOICE
Book Information
ISBN 9780803226258
Author Robert H. Ruby
Format Hardback
Page Count 448
Imprint University of Nebraska Press
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
