When asked “Didn’t you used to be Vine Deloria Jr.?” Deloria, the noted Native American scholar, once quipped, “I say I gave that up because it didn’t pay.”
It was vintage Deloria, using humor to make a point. The writer and University of Colorado history professor, who died Sunday at age 72, changed how America views Indians. His 1969 book, “Custer Died for Your Sins” challenged the usual version of U.S. history by showing the Indian side of the story and explaining Indian tribes as living cultures, not museum relics. He changed not only what non-Indians thought about Indians, but also how Indians saw themselves. More than a book, “Custer” was a manifesto for a new generation of American Indian leaders.
Deloria’s later works needled both the left and the right, for example taking shots at both evolution and creationism, but caused critics to call some of his ideas contrarian, even crackpot. Yet he remained willing to challenge the status quo. In 2004, he refused an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from CU because he said university officials covered up alleged scandals in the athletic department.
A Standing Rock Sioux, Deloria earned degrees from Iowa State University, Augustana Lutheran Seminary and the CU law school. He wrote more than 20 books, taught at CU and the University of Arizona, was a former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and earned numerous awards.
Deloria could speak with candor because he sprinkled his criticisms with humor. The best way to undermine conventional wisdom, he seemed to think, was with a good punch line.
