In the Spirit of Crazy Horse was published by Viking Press in 1983, immediately sued off bookstore shelves, and did not become freely available until 1991 — eight years during which it existed as one of the most famous suppressed books in American publishing. The libel suits (brought by South Dakota Governor William Janklow and FBI agent David Price) were eventually dismissed, but the legal battle cost Viking and Matthiessen millions and effectively censored a major work of investigative journalism for nearly a decade.
The Book
The subject is the events at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, in the mid-1970s — specifically the June 26, 1975 shootout in which two FBI agents (Jack Coler and Ronald Williams) and one Native American (Joe Stuntz Killsright) were killed, and the subsequent prosecution and conviction of Leonard Peltier for the agents’ murders.
Matthiessen investigates the case with the methods of a journalist and the moral passion of an advocate. His argument — supported by extensive documentation — is that:
- The FBI’s presence at Pine Ridge was part of a broader campaign to suppress the American Indian Movement (AIM)
- The shootout was provoked by FBI aggression, not Indian ambush
- Peltier’s conviction was achieved through coerced testimony, suppressed evidence, and judicial misconduct
- The real target was not Peltier but the entire Native sovereignty movement
The book is nearly 600 pages of interviews, court records, FBI documents (many obtained through FOIA requests), and firsthand reporting from Pine Ridge. It embeds the Peltier case within the larger history of Lakota resistance — from Crazy Horse and the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty through Wounded Knee 1890 to the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation.
The Suppression
Governor Janklow sued because the book repeated an allegation (from multiple sources) that he had raped a Native girl. Agent Price sued because the book criticized his conduct during the investigation. Both suits were eventually dismissed — the Janklow suit on First Amendment grounds, the Price suit for failure to prove actual malice.
During the eight years of litigation, Viking pulled the book from bookstores. It became a cause célèbre of free speech — available in libraries but not for purchase. The 1991 reissue (with a new afterword by Matthiessen) made it permanently available.
Legacy
The book became central to the Free Leonard Peltier movement. Whether one accepts Matthiessen’s argument that Peltier is innocent or merely believes he didn’t receive a fair trial, the book’s documentation of FBI conduct at Pine Ridge is devastating and has never been seriously refuted.
Peltier remains in federal prison as of 2024 — one of the longest-serving political prisoners in American history, depending on one’s definition. The case remains intensely contested.
Collecting In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
First edition (Viking Press, New York, 1983): Blue cloth binding with gold lettering. Dust jacket with photographic imagery.
Identification points:
- “First published in 1983 by The Viking Press” stated
- Viking colophon
- 628 pages including extensive notes
Market values: First editions in dust jacket bring $200–$600. The eight-year suppression makes fine first editions genuinely scarce — relatively few copies survived the recall intact.
Signed copies: $500–$1,500. Matthiessen signed copies at events, particularly AIM fundraisers and literary festivals.
The 1991 reissue with new afterword is a separate collecting item ($50–$100) as the restored edition.
The book’s censorship history gives it added collecting significance — it represents both a major work of investigative journalism and a landmark First Amendment case.