The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country

By Steve Hendricks

Book Overview

In 1976 the body of Anna Mae Aquash, an American Indian luminary, was found frozen in the Badlands of South Dakota--or so the FBI said. After a suspicious autopsy and a rushed burial, friends had Aquash exhumed and found a .32-caliber bullet in her skull. Using this scandal as a point of departure, The Unquiet Grave opens a tunnel into the dark side of the FBI and its subversion of American Indian activists. But the book also discovers things the Indians would prefer to keep buried. What unfolds is a sinuous tale of conspiracy, murder, and cover-up that stretches from the plains of South Dakota to the polished corridors of Washington, D.C. First-time author Steve Hendricks sued the FBI over several years to pry out thousands of unseen documents about the events. His work was supported by the prestigious Fund for Investigative Journalism. Hendricks, who has freelanced for The Nation, Boston Globe, Orion, and public radio, is one of those rare reporters whose investigative tenacity is accompanied by grace with the written word.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560257350
• ISBN13: 9781560257356
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press
• Length: 490 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Oppression Warning

Together with "The Race Beat"(Roberts & Klibanoff) and "Impounded" (Gordon & Okihiro), "The Unquiet Grave" completes a triumvarate of beautifully executed books published this year which scream the dangers posed by 'Homeland Security' abuses. Hendricks limns not just the atrocities of the FBI, but also the LAPD, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Justice Department, Supreme Court, State of South Dakota and more in a retch inducing indictiment. His deep though unobstrusive research starts in the Seventies and ends in today's world. This book deserves wide readership: and a wide readership deserves to know about this book. What happened to Indians or editors in Indian Country could very well happen to you and I today, anywhere. The governmental machine has lied and cheated and abused us all; only some of its direct objects, as discussed by Hendricks, happened to have red hued skin. Be warned, if you can be outraged by injstice, you may have trouble keeping your blood pressure under control while reading this book.

An eye-opener

Reading this book reminds me of the adage: if you aren't appalled you haven't been paying attention. Before reading "The Unquiet Grave" I did not realize that Indian rights are being trampled by the U.S government in myriad ways even now. I knew of historical atrocities, the Trail of Tears, and so on, but I didn't know the extent to which the abuse continues to this day. Thanks to Steve Hendricks and his carefully researched book, now I am paying attention - and I am appalled.

An impressive and insightful book

This book helps one get understand the mind of the native american's - their struggles and the obstacles they face. This book bring to light yet another injustice. Beyond the subject matter, the book is written with style, sensitivity, a touch of advocacy (which is good and warranted), and with humor. Well worth the time.

Hard-hitting & thought-provoking!

Compelling, all the more so because it's true, The Unquiet Grave is a narrative that reads more like mystery or drama than nonfiction. Hendricks assesmbles his extensive research, skillfully weaving the micro (Aquash's murder) and the macro (the Indian rights struggle) into a tale of betrayal and cover-up that will keep the reader hooked to the end. Painstakingly documented, this book unravels in careful detail the missteps and abuses of power of government agencies, AIM activists, and ruthless Indian tribal leaders alike; it is a chilling account of injustices that helped to sink the Indian civil rights movement and of the innocent Lakota men, women, and children brutalized in its wake. A powerful book with themes such as government surveillance, corruption, conspiracy, and paranoia that resonate to this day.

Amazing stories, great writing, and important spotlight on the FBI

Mr Hendricks' writing is great - his story is riveting and it shines a high power spotlight on the abuses of the FBI against native americans - an issue that all of us should be concerned about because it highlights the risk and threat that powerful agencies can pose to the rule of law and justice.