Description

Hidden Disgrace presented by David J. Fierst

Join us at Campbell County Public Library for a compelling presentation by attorney and author David Fierst, as he discusses his book Hidden Disgrace: Revealing the Distress Signals Covered by North American Indian Myths on Friday, October 17, at 1pm. 

Fierst's book is a powerful examination of the harsh realities he witnessed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota during his visit in 2014 and volunteer work from 2015-2019, after which he grappled with understanding the reasons for the harsh living conditions there. Drawing on extensive original research from institutions such as the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Lilly Library in Indiana, the author explores the historical roots of present-day challenges. His work sheds light on the urgent need for change in how we engage with the Lakota people—and with Native American communities across the United States.

Fierst lives in Dayton, Ohio. Hidden Disgrace is his first book.

From the book cover: 
Through meticulous research, Hidden Disgrace pierces through the veil of descriptions of Indians as either savages or "Noble Savages" and describes them as real people with both strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, it takes a hard look at the notion the conquest of North and South America by Europeans was "inevitable" and was, in reality, the result of deliberate choices.

Books that dive beneath the superficial explanations of Westward Expansion are often criticized as being "revisionist history." Such claims ignore the obvious explanation that aspects of history cannot be "revised" if they were never reported properly in the recording of history.

Among other historically documented myths, Hidden Disgrace explains why the casting of the Wounded Knee Massacre as the result of an attempt to suppress an uprising fueled by the "Ghost Dance" is patently absurd. Important facts surrounding that dark episode in United States history are often ignored, miscast, or misrepresented altogether.

With this work, the author seeks to shed light on the true course of history.