At 86, Oglala Lakota Native Billy Mills is as sharp as a tack, and vividly recalls how he won the Gold Medal at the 1964 Olympics. He was the first American to top the field in the 10,000-metres race and only the second Indigenous athlete to claim a Gold Medal (Jim Thorpe of the Sac and Fox Nation was first). In 2012, President Obama awarded Mills, who lives in Sacramento, the Presidential Citizens Medal for co-founding Running Strong for American Indian Youth. He was also the subject of a 1983 movie and wrote Lessons of the Lakota. Donna Janell Bowman is the author of several award-winning picture book biographies for younger readers, including Step Right Up: How Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness and Lincoln’s Dueling Words. Mills and Bowman spoke with us about their new book, Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills, detailing Mills’s experience losing his parents at any early age, his diabetes diagnosis, his extreme poverty, and his victory in the Tokyo Olympics.
Billy, how did you decide to write a book about your life for children?
When Donna first contacted my wife, Pat, to write a book, I wasn’t ready. A few years later, Donna came to Sacramento and I felt an incredible spiritual connection with her. She spent a lot of time researching the Lakota and that impressed me.
Why was now the right time to write this book?
Chief Red Cloud said that it would take seven generations to heal our people and put us back on The Red Road. My grandchildren are the seventh generation and the youth of today will help us heal. I wanted to create something that would help them prepare and introduce them to our incredible diversity. Donna wrote the book and I provided the footprints of our customs, traditions, and spirituality.
Donna, why did you approach Billy to write about his Olympic journey?
I had been commissioned by an educational publisher to write about the great Sioux Nation and in my research, I came across Billy’s story. I couldn’t get him out of my head. His is such a human story. Yes, his culture is fascinating, but his story is that of a dreamer and everyone can connect with an underdog who then turns around and helps others.
Why did you wait until Billy could be involved in the writing?
From the beginning, I knew I could have written without him, but decided I wouldn’t. I did ask him if he preferred a Native co-author. By 2020, he was ready and I had collected a lot of information about his life and community. He loved my first draft. I would write and send it to him and he made sure the information was correct, especially regarding his culture. Toward the end he said, “You get me,” and that’s the highest honor he could have given me.
Billy, what has the book’s success meant to you?
My people told me when I went to the Olympics to remember I came from the Black Hills [of Dakota] and I needed to bring powerful prayer with me because I belonged to all our people. I expanded that to national and global liberty. The book will reach the younger generation, and I owe that to Donna.
Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills and Donna Janell Bowman, illus. by S.D. Nelson. Little, Brown, $19.99, July 2 ISBN 978-0-316-37348-7
