Without Reservation

As the first Lakota to serve in the United States Congress, Benjamin ("Ben") Reifel (1906-1990) made a career of straddling two distinct cultures. In this premier biography of Reifel, Sean J. Flynn offers an alternative to depictions of American Indians as victims of eighteenth- and nineteenth century conquest. Contributing to a long-neglected topic in American Indian studies--the lives of twentieth-century American Indians--Flynn showcases the life of a man who prospered in the American mainstream without forsaking his racial identity.