Battle of Wounded Knee the focus of discussion in Des Moines

The battle that ended the so-called Indian Wars of the late 19th century is the subject of a talk today at the State Historical Building. Author and Des Moines resident William Coleman will be speaking about and signing copies of his book “Voices of Wounded Knee”.Coleman is a professor of theatre arts at Drake University. He spent 30 years collecting material, researching archives and speaking with descendents of victims of the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Sioux chief Big Foot and about 300 Indians were killed along with 25 soldiers. He says that battle was a “pivotal moment” in U-S history as it was a moment when Native Americans lost all hope for returning to their original way of life.Coleman says he chose to postpone this speaking engagement which was originally slated for the weekend after the September 11th terrorist attacks. He admits the book is very critical of the U-S government. He says the government never honored a single one of its treaties.Coleman is speaking at 2 p-m today at the historical building in Des Moines.