Big book...xli + 646 = 687 pages. And tiny letters...probably 1 1/2 pages' worth of words on every page. Dare I eat this 🍑?
I don't know. But I'm going to take a bite.
Day 1 (DDRD 3,257) October 4, 2026
Read to page 2.
"Let's not walk on the moon, then fail to understand what this creation is all about. This is life, this is beautiful, everything is the way it should be." (xxxviii)
Day 2 (DDRD 3,258) October 5, 2026
Only read to page 17. Not for lack of interest, though.
I was pretty thrilled to find out that Peter Matthiessen had written a book about Leonard Peltier. I'd seen the documentary Incident at Oglala (1992) and read Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance (with a Great Books class to boot), so I was a bit familiar with Peltier's "case," but I was ready for more.
Day 3 (DDRD 3,259) October 6, 2026
Read to page 47.
Going through the "background" material has been very painful. It's just stunning and psinful to think how the Indians were treated. It makes me want to do something...but I have no idea what.
"I hate all the white people. You are thieves and liars. You have taken away our land and made us outcasts." (Sitting Bull, quoted by Dee Brown in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee page 607.)
Which makes me think...maybe Trump is the quintessential American president: a thief, a liar, a rapist, a fool. Is that who we are?
I fear that it is so.
Toward the end of today's reading, Leonard Peltier came into the story. The pages before his entry were just horrifying. The Indians were treated so terribly, so mercilessly. It's shameful.
Day 4 (DDRD 3,260) October 7, 2026
Read to page 77.
Check out this video: "I Hate the White Man" by Roy Harper https://share.google/ben753zwBpjLFYUmj
Day 5 (DDRD 3,261) October 8, 2026
Read to page 107. Leonard Peltier has stepped out of the picture, but the heinous treatment of the Indians continues: people are beaten to death, children are raped, and the land is plundered. So shameful. It also becomes apparent how important AIM was for the American Indians. Their presence altered outcomes in many important cases.
Day 6 (DDRD 3,262) October 9, 2026
Read to page 137.
Day 7 (DDRD 3,263) October 10, 2026
Read to page 167.
Reading about the Sun Dance reminds me of that paunful scene in The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976) whete Richard Harris puts in the bones chips and dangles from them until his flesh rips. Yuck. You can see it for free on Tubi or Pluto if you have the need.
Day 8 (DDRD 3,264) October 11, 2026
Read to page 200. Which was quite the accomplishment on a day which included 3 hours in church, 4 hours at the opera, and dinner at Chili's. (Hated it. Loud and kid screamy and meh food and not cheap.)
Day 9 (DDRD 3,265) October 12, 2026
Read to page 212. Just didn't have it in me to get any further. Have to admit I did read a lot of The Dark Tower today, though.
Day 10 (DDRD 3,266) October 13, 2026
Read to page 242.
Day 11 (DDRD 3,267) October 14, 2026
Read to page 265.
Day 12 (DDRD 3,268) October 15, 2026
Read to page 287.
Day 13 (DDRD 3,269) October 16, 2026
Read to page 317.
At this point in the reading, it seems that Peltier is actually guilty of participating in the murder of the FBI agents. False witnesses? I read on.
And things begin to turn. The main testimony against Peltier was given by a mentally imbalanced woman whose life (and the life of her child) was threatened by the FBI if she didn't say what she wanted them to say.
I found out that the movie Thunderheart, which is in part based on the Ogala incident, was available on Pluto TV. So I stopped to watch itcustoms.n the plus side: Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Fred Thompson, John Trudell (!), and David Crosby...and one of the producers was Robert De Niro. And there were many American Indians in the cast. There was also at least some respect shown towards Indian customs.
On the minus side, American Indian Movement (AIM) was fictionalized as Aboriginal Rights Movement (ARM), which strikes me as more than a little desultory.
All in all it was worth doing, though.
Read to page 347.
Day 14 (DDRD 3,270) October 18*, 2026
Read to page 377.
If this doesn't make you sick, nothing will:
* Somehow my date is off again, but I know I didn't miss reading any days, and I'm too lazy to put any effort into finding my error. Try try try to let it ride.
Day 15 (DDRD 3,271) October 19, 2026
Read to page 392. I confess: I read two giant shitloads of The Dark Tower 3 today, which cut into the readtime a bit.
"...a wounded heart does many stupid things." (383) Man, that line cut a gash through my soul. When I thunk of all the times I tried to hold on when there was nothing but a greasy rope to hold onto, it makes me wish I'd never tried at all. Love really is a dog from hell.
Day 16 (DDRD 3,272) October 20, 2026
Read to page 422. Which means 178 pages to go...whuch should be six days' worth. So I am already starting to think about what comes next. I'm considering Custer Died for Your Sins, which I've had for some time. If I am not mistaken, that was a book my mom had long ago.
Day 17 (DDRD 3,273) October 21, 2026
Read to page 452.
Or maybe this:
Cause I am getting into a Matthiessen Mood.
Day 18 (DDRD 3,274) October 22, 2026
Read to page 482.
Day 19 (DDRD 3,275) October 23, 2026
Read to 512. Y'know, lately I've really been getting drawn into this book. Primarily because the focus has shifted to Leonard Peltier and his innocence. I'm going to miss this book. (And only 98 pages left...3 days' worth.😪)
Day 20 (DDRD 3,276) October 24, 2026
Read to page 545.
Day 21 (DDRD 3,277) October 25, 2026
Read to page 575. Could probably finish this up today....
And did. Read to page 646, The End.
And already did a little nibbling at
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