Dee Brown (February 29, 1908---December 12, 2002) was an American novelist 

and historian. His most famous work is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, published in 1970, detailing the violent relationship between Native Americans and American expansionism. This work led to further appreciation of the Native American culture by the common American, and caused a new look at the history of the American west, from the Native American point of view. February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, first published in 1970, is a history of Native Americans in the American West in the late nineteenth century, and their displacement and slaughter by the United States. ... 1970 (MCMLXX in Roman) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Native Americans in the United States (also known as Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States and their descendants in... The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ...

Born in Alberta, Louisiana, Brown grew up in Ouachita County, Arkansas and Little Rock, Arkansas, where he became friends with many Native Americans who made him realize that the portrayals of their people in American movies was not the true story. He worked as a reporter in Harrison, Arkansas, then became a teacher and librarian. Ouachita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Harrison is a city located in Boone County, Arkansas. ...

He was a librarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1934 to 1942 and for the War Department after serving in the army in World War II. From 1948 to 1972, he was an agriculture librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had gained a master's degree in library science and became professor. In 1973, he retired back in Arkansas and devoted his time to writing.

When "Bury My Heart" was published, many readers assumed that he was of Indian heritage, but in fact he was not. He did however come from a family with deep frontier history.

He had written several novels during his life, the first being Wave High the Banner, a fictionalized account of the life of Davy Crockett (who was an acquaintance of his great-grandfather). He wrote over a dozen books, including several for children, before Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee came out. Another popular work, Creek Mary's Blood, was a novel telling of several generations of a family descended from one Creek woman. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The Creeks are an American Indian people originally from the southeastern United States, also known by their original name Muscogee (or Muskogee), the name they use to identify themselves today. ...

Some people say that he depended too much on old (or new, persay) medical and hospital records and accounts for his novelations, but one thing is clear, the federal government watched his works closely. His period of library work also greatly influenced his writing, more so than is evidenced in his interviews.

Sources

• Washington Post Saturday, December 14, 2002
• The Economist, December 21, 2002