Wounded Knee, 1973: Consummatory and instrumental functions of militant discourse

Little academic research exists of the American Indian takeover of the hamlet of Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1973. This thesis is an analysis of the discourse of the Wounded Knee incident, which served dual purposes for the activists. First, American Indian discourse served as a reinforcing agent to American Indians, both at Wounded Knee and across the country. Second, the rhetoric was meant to effect change within the general American public. This thesis will adopt and expand on Randall Lake's 1983 theory of the consummatory function of rhetoric by dissecting the fascinating discourse that shaped the identity of the Wounded Knee incident and the public perception of American Indians and the American Indian Movement (AIM) during this era.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

2000

Author dc:creator

• Melchert, Lucie Moya

Contributors dc:contributor

• Richard Jensen

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/1125

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-2124