Hendricks, Steve

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Hendricks, Steve

PERSONAL:

Born in AR; married Jennifer Hendricks; children: one son. Education: Yale University, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Knoxville, TN. Home and office—Knoxville, TN. Agent—Andrew Wylie, The Wylie Agency, 250 W. 57th St., Ste. 2114, New York NY 10107. E-mail—steve@stevehendricks.org.

CAREER:

Freelance writer. Has written for the Progressive Media Project and Montana Public Radio.

WRITINGS:

The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including DoubleTake, Sierra, Orion, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Nation.

SIDELIGHTS:

Steve Hendricks is a freelance writer and journalist with a particular interest in politics. He considered a career in public service, running for office twice in Helena, Montana, but lost both times, a result that convinced him to turn to writing full-time. His work has appeared in a number of periodicals, including DoubleTake, Sierra, Orion, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Nation, and he has also written for the Progressive Media Project and Montana Public Radio. Hendricks's first book, The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country, stemmed from his interest in the treatment of the Native Americans by the FBI. He first read about the conflict in Peter Matthiessen's book In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, after which he began doing his own research on the topic. On an interview on his home page, Hendricks stated: "I wanted to know what had been found out in the years since—what more had been learned about the conflict over Indian rights, particularly in the main battleground state of South Dakota. It turned out just about nothing had been written since." Hendricks found himself blocked at every turn, as the FBI refused to provide him with documentation that should have been made available under the Freedom of Information Act. He wrote his own book in an attempt to shed light on the immensity of the cover up regarding this area in recent U.S. history. Steve Weinberg, writing for Booklist, called the book "a citizen indictment based on extensive and impressive research," and a contributor for Kirkus Reviews found it to be "a blistering, important work."