Lakota Woman

4 Pages 1018 Words

"Between 1870 and 1880 all Sioux were driven into reservations, fenced in and forced to give up everything that had given meaning to their life — their horses, their hunting, their arms, everything. But under the long snows of despair the little spark of our ancient beliefs and pride kept glowing, just barely sometimes, waiting for a warm wind to blow that spark into a flame again."
--Mary Crow Dog

Lakota Woman tells the life story of Mary Crow Dog, a Native American woman who witnessed some of the most relevant events of the Native American movement during the late 60’s and 70’s. Crow Dog was born Mary Brave Bird on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota in 1953; she grew up in poverty, without running water or electricity, in a one room shack that she shared with her mother and six siblings. She was born to a Native American woman and a white man; her father disappeared shortly after. Not only did she grow up without a father, but she also grew up as a "half-breed," something that would play a big part in the socialization among her people.
Crow Dog left her mother’s home at the age of eleven, her childhood was spent growing up in the streets, drinking and living "like a hobo." Fed up with the school system, Crow Dog left the boarding school on her own terms and began to resist her mother and the white man through learning about her Native American heritage from the older generations; she began to fight for her rights and those of her people along with many other Native Americans.
Joining the AIM in 1971, Crow Dog began to lead the life of an activist, she joined marches for Native American rights, attended rallies held for and by various prominent figures in the Native American community. She was also involved in the siege of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington D.C., where AIM was to meet with government officials to discuss a list of "broken treaties" between Native American and the United Sta...