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Of Uncommon Birth: Dakota Sons in Vietnam
Contributor(s): St Pierre, Mark (Author)
ISBN: 0806153458     ISBN-13: 9780806153452
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
OUR PRICE:   $21.73  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: February 2016
* Not available - Not in print at this time *
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Military - Vietnam War
- History | Military - United States
- Biography & Autobiography | Military
Dewey: 959.704
Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6" W x 9" (1.04 lbs) 320 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Southeast Asian
- Ethnic Orientation - Native American
- Geographic Orientation - South Dakota
- Cultural Region - Upper Midwest
- Cultural Region - Midwest
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

A work of creative nonfiction inspired by the true story of two South Dakota teenagers, Mark St. Pierre's Of Uncommon Birth draws upon extensive interviews and exhaustive research in military archives to present a harrowing story of two young men--one white, one Indian--caught in the vortex of the Vietnam War.

Dale, a young middle-class white American from South Dakota, joins the army during the Vietnam War and dreams of serving his country. Frank, a young Lakota Indian, joins the army in an effort to flee the seemingly inescapable circumstances of his life and to follow his people's warrior tradition. Mark St. Pierre intimately weaves together the lives of these two men from different worlds, as each struggles with issues of loyalty, responsibility, sacrifice, and personal identity through his experiences in Vietnam.

Of Uncommon Birth presents the ironic story of an American Indian soldier who lets himself become stereotyped as the Native "good luck charm," even if the brave Indian scout stereotype carries with it the smell of death.


Contributor Bio(s): St Pierre, Mark: -

Mark St. Pierre has lived among the Lakota people since 1971, both as an educator and as an encourager of American Indian art. His involvement has given him a special sensitivity to the more subtle aspects of acculturation and continuity in Lakota identity. He is Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Creative Writing in Colorado Mountain College, Steamboat Springs.