at the convention center, david treuer, the author of this book, the heartbeat of wounded knee, native america from 1890 to the present. mr. treuer, describe the united states in 1890. >> guest: describe the united states in 1890. start with the hard question. why you have to make so it tough? 1890 was a really important time, really strange time. both for americans generally but also native americans in particular. the frontier was declared officially closed. the reservation system was officially in full swing. it was a time of great change but it was sort of the beginning of what we think of as modern america. and the end of what we think of as native american bought those thing were untrue. >> why do you 1890 to by that dividing line. >> 1890 was the year of arguably the last conflict, armed conflict between native folks and the american government. at the massacre another wind knee in south dakota where between 150 and 300 lakota men, women and children, principally women and children were massacred by the reconstitutioned cavalry, and that moment, that moment came to stand in for

and they were very effective at grabbing america's attention. >> host: david treuer you mentioned your folks. mom, lawyer, judge. native american, father, jewish, survivor of the holocaust. hough did they meet? >> guest: they met at leech lake. when they were -- >> host: in minnesota. >> guest: yes niksch reservation, my mom's reservation, my father moved there to teach high school, and they met back then, and then my mom became a nurse and was working on a health care initiative on the reservation my father stopped teaching by that point and was working on the same health care program so they were coworkers, both trying to improve health care on minnesota reservations, and fell in love and had my brother and me and my younger brother and sister. >> host: next call for david treuer, from denice in new jersey. hi, denice. >> caller: good afternoon. a pleasure to speak to mr. treuer. one off my favorite books war bury my heart at wounded need and i would like to know if he can tell me how his book compares and contrasts to dee brown's mo is one of my heroes. second part of my question is

at the convention center, david treuer, the author of this book, the heartbeat of wounded knee, native america from 1890 to the present. mr. treuer, describe the united states in 1890. >> guest: describe the united states in 1890. start with the hard question. why you have to make so it tough? 1890 was a really important time, really strange time. both for americans generally but also native americans in particular. the frontier was declared of