The boy sat with his grandfather and the other old men under a cottonwood tree in the 1950s, choosing to listen to their stories rather than to join others his age in a game. These old men spoke in their own language, Lakota, but that didn’t matter to the boy, he lived with his grandparents and it was his first language.
Joseph Marshall III, a member of the Sicangu Oyate tribe, grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, ten miles southwest of White River, South Dakota, on his grandmother’s land. They lived in a log cabin she had built. His playground was 160 acres and he had a couple of dogs and a horse.
When Joe went to school, at about age eight, he was the oldest in the kindergarten class, and barely spoke any English. But this boy who liked listening to the stories of his elders, did fine in school; many of the other children spoke Lakota and a smattering of English, so they learned together.
Stories always entertained Joe and eventually he would write his own, recounting the tales he’d learned as a boy – always drawing from his Lakota culture for inspiration.
Among his accomplishments in bringing Lakota stories to diverse audiences, Joe has written novels, history, essays, and a newspaper column. He has worked in film, both as a cultural advisor to producers and screenwriters and as an actor. He co-founded a college for tribal members and has instructed young Lakotas in traditional skills.
His books include The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History and The Long Knives are Crying, a novel about the Battle of the Little Big Horn. In 2023, he was inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame, which is housed in Cody.
Like the elders he learned from, Joe is a story keeper – and one who writes and speaks with authority.
He has that authority because of the “fortunate consequence of how I grew up, having access to those older people wanting to tell their stories.”
“As I look back on it the positive aspect of having this close relationship with my grandparents, it put me in touch with people of their generation, their relatives and friends.” Those people were the elders of the tribe, and from them Joe heard a lot of stories. “I loved those stories,” he said.
Joe did some creative writing when he was in high school. After college, military service, and a stint teaching and working in tribal government, he moved to Casper, where he first began writing professionally.
Marshall’s books Soldiers Falling into Camp: The Battles at the Rosebud and the Little Big Horn (1992, with Robert Kammen and Frederick Lefthand); Winter of the Holy Iron (1994); and On Behalf of the Wolf and the First Peoples (1995) were followed by The Dance House: Stories from Rosebud (1998) – a collection of short stories and essays.
Joe’s humble childhood gave him a foundation that he has stood on throughout his life. He also wrote The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History; Hundred in the Hand, the story of the 1866 Fetterman battle, and The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn.
Several of his books are about Lakota beliefs, customs and spirituality including The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living; Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders; and The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage: Lessons in Resilience from the Bow and Arrow.
For a time, he taught in both high school and college classrooms. He has taught the art of bowmaking to young people for Lakota Youth Initiative on the Rosebud Reservation and he was one of the founders of Sinte Gleske University, one of the first three tribal colleges in the United States.
The Movies Come Calling
While living in Casper in 1990, working as Executive Director of the local Red Cross chapter, Marshall’s life took a spin in a new direction when he became a technical advisor on the film production for “The Lakota Moon.”
After that initial foray into making movies, Joe was next cast in a non-speaking role as a warrior in Return to Lonesome Dove based on the Larry McMurtry novel. He became a technical advisor for “Into the West” for Turner Network Television and also was cast in the role of the elder Loved by the Buffalo.
“I had never acted before” Marshall said. “I was terrified that I would come across very unauthentically. The basic thing was I was picked a role to play was a native person, so at least I had that in the bag.”
I’ve known Joe since his early days in Casper and more than once have benefitted from his sharing of his Lakota culture. If you haven’t read any of his books, do yourself a favor and pick up something this Hall of Fame writer has written.
Candy Moulton can be reached at Candy.L.Moulton@gmail.com
