About the Author

Akim D. Reinhardt is an associate professor of History at Towson University in Maryland. His work has also appeared in American Indian Quarterly, the Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, and La Pensee.

Reviews

A seminal study... academically impressive, substantively informative, and thoughtfully insightful. --Midwest Book Review [Reinhardt's] use of indigenous source material, along with a bevy of other quality data, enables him to provide an organic perspective on forty years of Lakota history, politics, and sovereignty not otherwise obtainable. --Journal of American History ""Ruling Pine Ridge reads strong, having captured the essence of OIA/BIA internal colonist control over Pine Ridge throughout most of the twentieth century. In this respect, it is an important historical resource for understanding contemporary political struggles of American Indian reservations and Native Americans."" --James V. Fenelon, Great Plains Quarterly, Summer 2008 ""A work of impeccable and detailed scholarly research (some of which had never been previously accessed by historians), that should be a part of every university library's Native American Studies reference collection, Ruling Pine Ridge is a seminal study that is an academically impressive, substantively informative, and thoughtfully insightful."" --Internet Bookwatch, Sept. 2007 ""Akim D. Reinhardt taps the currents of Native American life...[his] work is essential for anyone seeking insight and understanding of the subterranean currents in Lakota societies from the IRA to AIM."" --William L. Hewitt, Nebraska History, Winter 2007 ""[Ruling Pine Ridge] is a narrative that restores historical agency to Oglala people. By discussing historical events in their local context and listening to Indian voices, the author convincingly demonstrates that the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee stemmed from longstanding tribal discontent with its dysfunctional IRA government."" --Kenneth Philip, American Historical Review, June 2008 ""Reinhardt is skilled at drawing personal stories from his sources, weaving them into his narrative, and combining them with other data to support his thesis. Overall, the book is thoroughly researched and carefully and convincingly argued. Unlike many academic writers, Reinhardt also tells a good story, taking us inside events as they unfolded on the Pine Ridge reservation...Ruling Pine Ridge makes a valuable contribution to Americaan Indian Studies, one with both theoretical and practical relevance. Through his rigorous political history of Pine Ridge, Reinhardt exposes the historical foundation of reservation politics throughout the United States."" --Julie Davis, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Autumn 2007, Vol. 105, No. 4