Vine Deloria, Jr., (b. March 14, 1933-d. November 13, 2005) was a Standing Rock Sioux lawyer, teacher, activist and writer. After completing his schooling, he worked as the executive director for the National Conference of American Indians (NCAI) from 1964-1967, where he advocated for the rights of Native Americans. Shortly after his tenure there, he wrote the groundbreaking work Custer Died For Your Sins. This book was published in 1969, just prior to the We Hold the Rock takeover of Alcatraz, the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC and the Wounded Knee Incident of 1973.
At the time Deloria was writing Custer, he was still in law school and the head of NCAI. As the American Indian Movement (AIM) gained momentum and the Civil Rights movement had achieved multiple milestones, Deloria worked to muster the support of tribes for the NCAI and to improve the civil rights and regain sovereignty for Native Americans. He struggled to raise money to run the underfunded NCAI. He wrote, “What we need is a cultural leave-us-alone agreement in spirit and in fact” (Custer p. 34).