Hardcover copies of Anton Treuer’s critically-acclaimed new book on Ojibwe leader Hole in the Day are up for grabs to BCC club members!
On June 27, 1868, national headlines flooded with news of the fatal shooting of Hole in the Day (Bagone-giizhig) — self-styled leader of the Ojibwe nation. On his way from Crow Wing, Minn., to Washington, D.C., the controversial chief had been stopped by at least 12 Ojibwe men and fatally shot.
The motive behind the killing was unclear — theories posited by media officials were manifold: personal jealousy, retribution for claiming to be head chief of the Ojibwe, retaliation for the attacks he fomented in 1862, or reprisal for attempting to keep mixed-blood Ojibwe off the White Earth Reservation.
Later, investigators found evidence of a more disturbing plot involving the business elite at Crow Wing.
Though much has been written by white historians about Hole in the Day’s turbulent leadership and subsequent murder, Treuer’s new book illuminates his story from within Ojibwe culture, focusing on inter-tribal relationships and the role of Ojibwe culture and tradition to explain the events leading up to the assassination.
Drawing on interviews with more than 50 elders, Treuer captures the personality and politics of the Ojibwe chief who led his people through the first difficult years of dispossession by white invaders — and created a new kind of leadership for the Ojibwe.
MinnPost — in conjunction with Minnesota Historical Society Press — is giving away two hardcover copies of “The Assassination of Hole in the Day.” If you are a member of a registered BCC club and would like to enter to win, email bookclubclub [at] minnpost [dot] com by Monday, November 22 at 5 p.m. Include the name of your registered book club and a mailing address.
(To register your book club, click the link on the righthand column of this page.)
