Perspective

Vine Deloria, Jr. was a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe, born near a reservation in South Dakota. Deloria came from a long line of religiously oriented and learned people. Reverend Philip Joseph Deloria was the author's grandfather, a man who served as an Episcopal priest as well as the chief of a group within the Nakota Nation. Vine Deloria, Sr. was also a member of the clergy, a theologian versed in the studies of English and Christian doctrine who later became an Episcopal archdeacon. Ella Deloria, a noted anthropologist, was aunt of Deloria, Jr.

Deloria, Jr. sought to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and become a member of the clergy. In 1963, Deloria received a degree in theology from Lutheran School of Theology in Illinois before continuing on to get a law degree from the University of Colorado in 1970.

In 1969, during the beginnings of the...