McClosky Character Analysis in Lakota Woman

Along with Beck, McClosky was one of two men who drunkenly crashed into Leonard Crow Dog’s yard and started a fight with some of Leonard’s relatives. In the fight, McClosky’s jaw was broken. Government officials arrested Leonard for breaking McClosky’s jaw, even though Leonard played no role in this skirmish. Later, Mary and Leonard discovered that the FBI staged Beck and McClosky’s crash and fight to create a plausible reason to arrest Leonard. This incident speaks to the U.S. government’s dishonesty and corruption in their treatment of Native Americans.

McClosky Character Timeline in Lakota Woman

The timeline below shows where the character McClosky appears in Lakota Woman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...the government seized their opportunity. On September 2, 1975, two drunk men named Beck and McClosky crashed their car in Leonard's yard. Their rowdy shouts—they were bragging about how they had... (full context)

Beck and McClosky pressed charges against Leonard, and, just a few days later, a team of nearly 185... (full context)

...a question that had no connection to what he was being arrested for, which was McClosky's broken jaw (even though it had been one of Leonard's relatives, and not Leonard, who... (full context)

...tip that Peltier was staying with Leonard Crow Dog. So, the government agents staged the Beck-McClosky incident to have a reason to investigate the Crow Dog property and arrest Leonard Crow... (full context)