Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains in-depth discussion and analysis of crimes against Indigenous Americans. The source text also contains some outdated terms. This language is avoided throughout this guide except in direct quotes and where the currently preferred language may cause confusion (such as using English names for tribes, rather than the original Indigenous names).

The opening chapter of Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto introduces several common myths and realities about contemporary Indigenous Americans. Deloria posits that white Americans often have the wrong approach when trying to connect with Indigenous people. Often, he says, well-meaning white people view Native people with pity and want to help tribes with their “plight.” Deloria believes that what most Indigenous people and tribes really want is to be allowed to govern themselves without unnecessary meddling from the United States government or white activists.

Deloria begins by criticizing those who proclaim distant Indigenous roots. He examines why many white people have stories about an “Indian princess” in their family history, a claim he heard frequently while working in Washington, DC. In Deloria’s view, many white families claim a woman as their long-lost Indigenous grandparent, rather than a man, because Native men are viewed as more violent and “savage.