Dorris Alexander "Dee" Brown (February 29, 1908 – December 12, 2002) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, and

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

. His most famous work, ''

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its de ...

'' (1970), details the history of the United States' westward colonization of the continent between 1860 and 1890 from the point of view of Native Americans.

Personal life

Born on Leap Year Day 1908 (a Saturday, and the same day Billy the Kid killer Pat Garrett died in what would in 1912 become New Mexico) in Alberta,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, a sawmill town, Brown grew up in Ouachita County, Arkansas, which experienced an oil boom when he was thirteen years old. Brown's mother later relocated to

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

so he and his brother and two sisters could attend a better high school. He spent much time in the public library reading the three-volume ''History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark'' which saw him develop an interest in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. He also discovered the works of

Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...

and

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his U.S.A. (trilogy), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...

, and later

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

and

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

. He cited these authors as those most influential on his own work. While attending home games by the baseball team the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

, he became acquainted with Moses Yellowhorse, a pitcher. His kindness, and a childhood friendship with a Creek boy, caused Brown to reject the descriptions of Native American peoples as violent and primitive, which dominated American popular culture at the time. He worked as a printer and

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Harrison, Arkansas The city of Harrison is the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek (Arkansas), Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Cen ...

, and decided to continue his education at Arkansas State Teachers College in

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. The city also serves as a regional shopping, ...

. His mentor, the history professor Dean D. McBrien, helped give him the idea to become a writer. They traveled west along with other students on two occasions in a Model T Ford. On campus, Brown worked as an editor to the student newspaper and was a student assistant in the library. The latter convinced him that he should become a

. In the midst of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

he went to

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in Washington, D.C. for graduate study. Brown worked part-time for J. Willard Marriott, attended classes, and married Sally Stroud (another graduate of Arkansas State Teachers College drawn to Washington by the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

). Eventually he found a full-time job and became a librarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1934 to 1942. He lived at 1717 R Street NW, in the

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

neighborhood. Brown's first novel was a satire of New Deal bureaucracy, but it was not published, owing to the bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. The publisher suggested "something patriotic" instead. He responded with ''Wave High The Banner'', a fictionalized account of the life of

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

(who was an acquaintance of his great-grandfather). A few months after its publication, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he met Martin Schmitt, with whom he collaborated on several works after the war. During the war, Brown worked for the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

as a librarian and never went overseas. From 1948 to 1972, he was an

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

librarian at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, where he had gained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

, became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, and raised a son, Mitchell, and daughter, Linda, with his wife Sally. As a part-time writer, he published nine books, three fiction and six nonfiction, by the end of the 1950s. During the 1960s, he completed eight more including ''The Galvanized Yankees'', which Brown described as requiring more research than any of his other books, and ''The Year of the Century: 1876'', which he described as his personal favorite. During 1971, his book ''

'' became a best-seller. Many readers assumed that Brown was of Native American heritage. During 1973, Brown and his wife retired in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, where he devoted his time to writing. His later works include ''Creek Mary's Blood'', a novel telling of several generations of a family descended from one Creek woman, and ''Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow'', which described the chicanery and romance concerning the construction of the western railroads. His last book-length work, ''The Way To Bright Star,'' is a

picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

set during the Civil War. He never completed its sequel, which was to feature

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...

and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Brown died at the age of 94 in

. His remains are interred in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...

, along with those of his wife.

Legacy and honors

*The Central Arkansas Library System named a branch library in

for him.

Works

Histories

* ''Fighting Indians of the West'' (1948) with Martin F. Schmitt * ''Trail Driving Days'' (1952) with Martin F. Schmitt * ''Grierson's Raid'' (1954) Describes a Union foray into Confederate territory * ''Settlers' West'' (1955) with Martin F. Schmitt * ''The Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West'' (1958) * ''The Bold Cavaliers: Morgan's Second Kentucky Cavalry Raiders'' (1959) Republished as ''Morgan's Raiders'' (1995). Describes John Hunt Morgan's Civil War activities. * ''The Fetterman Massacre'' (1962) * ''The Galvanized Yankees'' (1963) Republished (1986) * ''Showdown at Little Big Horn'' (1964) * ''The Year of the Century: 1876'' (1966) * ''

'' (1970) * ''Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga'' (1971) Republished as ''The Fetterman Massacre'' (1974) (First published 1962) * ''Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans'' (1972) * ''The Westerners'' (1974) * ''Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow'' (1977)—about the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

* ''Wondrous Times on the Frontier'' (1991) * ''The American West'' (1994) Collected excerpts from earlier books co-authored by Schmitt * ''Great Documents in American Indian History'' (1995)

Novels

* ''Wave High The Banner'' (1942) * ''Yellowhorse'' (1956) * ''Cavalry Scout'' (1958) * ''They Went Thataway'' (1960) republished as ''Pardon My Pandemonium'' (1984) * ''The Girl from Fort Wicked'' (1964) * ''Action at Beecher Island'' (1967) * ''Creek Mary’s Blood'' (1980) * ''Killdeer Mountain'' (1983) A mystery revolving around an officer in the Battle of Killdeer Mountain * ''Conspiracy of Knaves'' (1986) A Civil War historical saga about the Northwest Conspiracy * ''The Way To Bright Star'' (1998)

Other

* ''Tales of the Warrior Ants'' (1973) For young people * ''American Spa: Hot Springs, Arkansas'' (1982) An illustrated history * ''Dee Brown's Folktales of the Native American: Retold for Our Times'' (1993) Originally published as ''Teepee Tales'' (1979) * ''When the Century Was Young'' (1993) Memories of growing up in 1920s & 1930s * ''Images of the Old West'' (1996)

References

External links

Dee Brown at WorldCat

New York Times, December 14, 2002

Los Angeles Times, 2002-12-14 (obituary) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Dee 1908 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American novelists American librarians 20th-century American historians Writers from Arkansas University of Illinois School of Information Sciences alumni People from Ouachita County, Arkansas American male novelists 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers People from Dupont Circle George Washington University alumni