Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies by S. D. Nelson

Abstract

Reviewed by: Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies by S. D. Nelson Elizabeth Bush Nelson, S. D. Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies; written and illus. by S. D. Nelson and with photographs. Abrams, 2021 [144p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781419731938 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781647004927 $15.54 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-9 “The two youths were taught that personal glory could be won through violent conflict. It was this fatal teaching that would form their destiny and bring a dark end.” So, in this deftly organized presentation, does Nelson examine the run-up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn through the lens of its two epic adversaries—George Armstrong Custer and Tasunke Witco, or Crazy Horse—and the cultural expectations that led each to the historic confrontation and, ultimately, to their personal undoing. Nelson follows their upbringing and battlefield careers through short [End Page 25] chapters that reveal rather than belabor the similarities of training and personal leadership style: Lakota and West Point values of confirming manhood through battle; a tribalist world view, quick to see Other as Enemy; charismatic leadership coupled with a tendency to act independently of command; humiliating experience of demotion; and personal success and status that made enemies within their own ranks. Historical context is tightly woven throughout the trim text, and the rapid toggling between Custer and Crazy Horse, and between Lakota and U.S. Army campaigns, builds narrative tension that keeps the pages flying. Captioned and credited period reproductions supplement Nelson’s own noteworthy ledgerbook-style artwork, in which “the Indian’s images seem to float atop the lined paper of the ‘white man.’ Sadly, and in the most compelling way, the two cultures never seem to connect.” In a closing note Nelson remarks on how his Norse/Lakota ancestry connects to the nineteenth-century white/Indigenous conflicts; a timeline, chapter notes, selected bibliography, and index are also included. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois