Joseph Marshall III was born and raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and is an enrolled member of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate tribe. He was raised in a traditional Lakota household by his maternal grandparents, where his first language was Lakota. He grew up in the Horse Creek Community near White River. He learned English as a second language, and writes and publishes in English. After college, Marshall worked primarily as an English teacher at Todd County High School in Mission, South Dakota. In 1971, Marshall was a founding board member of Sinte Gleska University, the Sicangu Lakota's tribal college located at the reservation. He later taught at the college, helping develop a Native American studies curriculum. Marshall helped form a non-profit advocacy group for Native American students and parents. He has also worked as an educational and health programs administrator for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Along the way, he became a craftsman of traditional Lakota bows and arrows.
Television
Marshall has also worked as an actor, appearing in several episodes of The Real West. He worked in the mini-series Return to Lonesome Dove, adapted from novels in the Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry. His most recent role was playing the elder, Loved by the Buffalo, in the Turner Network Television mini-series Into the West.
Writing
Marshall writes mainly historical non-fiction about Lakota history and culture. In 1998, Scholar Mona Kratzert praised his work for its intimate presentation of Lakota culture. His works include the following:
Keep Going
Soldiers Falling into Camp: The Battles at the Rosebud and the Little Big Horn
How Not to Catch Fish: And Other Adventures of Iktomi
The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living,
Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders
Keep Going - The Art of Perseverance
The Power of Four: Leadership Lessons of Crazy Horse
In 2008, his book, The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn, won the PEN/Beyond Margins Arts. His fifth book, The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living, was a finalist in the spiritual category for the prestigious "Books for a Better Life Award" from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York. It was also a finalist in the creative non-fiction category for the "PEN Center USA" award.
