Critical Book Analysis of Lakota Woman: A Historical Perspective

This essay provides a critical analysis of Mary Crow Dog's memoir, "Lakota Woman," exploring her life as a Sioux Indian and her involvement in significant historical events such as the Trail of Broken Treaties and the occupation of Wounded Knee. The analysis examines Crow Dog's experiences, including her childhood, marriage, and activism within the Native American Church of America. The essay discusses the struggles faced by Sioux women, the concepts of "Half-Bloods" and "Full-Bloods," and the impact of racism. It highlights the book's influence on readers, its agreement and disagreement with their worldviews, and its teachings on equality and social justice. The essay concludes by emphasizing the book's portrayal of Mary Crow Dog as a courageous and influential figure.

Running head: CRITICAL BOOK ANALYSIS OF LAKOTA WOMAN
Critical Book Analysis of Lakota Woman
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1CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LAKOTA WOMAN
Lakota Woman is a book written by Mary Crow Dog, and was published in the year
1990. The book is a memoir and tells the readers about the life of a Sioux Indian named Mary
Crow Dog, who now goes by the name of Mary Brave Bird. In the book, the author talks
about her childhood as well as her adulthood in the country of the Rosebud Indian
Reservation at South Dakota. She also tells the readers about her married life as well as her
involvement in the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties as well as the 1973 Indian Occupation at
Wounded Knee and also her involvement in the Native American Church of America. The
book written by the author became won the American Book Award in the year 1991. It also
inspired a movie by the same name in the year 1994.
The purpose of this essay is to provide a critical and analytical approach to the
book written by the author Mary Crow Dog and also find out how the book applies to
the readers and how they can find an understanding of the book itself.
When the reader starts to analyse the book itself, it is seen that the author has talked
about various experiences from her life in the book. This included not only her involvement
in various activities as well as in the Native American Church of America. However, in the
book, the author has also talked about the struggles that have been faced by the Sioux women
against the White Americans.
As stated by Bakke (2017), she also tells the readers about the concept of the “Half-
Bloods” and “Full-Blood” and how she faced rejection from the whites themselves dur to her
being a half-blood herself. Apart from this, the readers also get the information from the
memoir of the author that she was involved in the Siege of the Wounded Knee, dodging
bullets and getting herself arrested for her actions.
All these information helps the readers to understand the life and the contribution that
Mary Crow Dog, also known as the Lakota Woman made to the country.

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Providing a summary of the book would help the readers to provide a critical and
analytical response to the book written by the author. From the reading of the book, it can be
stated that the text of course has an influence on the life of the readers. It is by reading the
book that the readers would get to know about the history of the Lakota and women of other
indigenous tribes of America (Boxer, 2015).
The book also provides the readers with the information of how the Sioux Indians had
an everyday struggle with their life. For example, the readers get the idea that they were not
on good terms with that of the white skinned Americans. They were involved in fights with
the Americans. All of these information gives the idea about the people and tribes of the past.
The readers get to know about their lives, interests as well as the struggles and the problems
they come across in their lives (Peters, 2018).
Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the book, Lakota Woman has something
to do with every reader. This is because the readers get to know about the culture of the Sioux
Indians and how their lives affected those of the other cultures of America.
While reading the book, the readers are of the opinion that the book indeed agrees and
at the same time disagree with that of their views of the world. This is expressed in the book
through the life and the memoir of Mary Crow Dog (Carcelen, 2015).
The essay will focus on the agreement of the world views between the readers and the
book itself. First, the book agrees with the reader itself that the Indians and their lives are not
much liked in the state of Dakota.
"The life of an Indian is not held in great value in the State of South Dakota."
It is this quote that resonates the agreement of the view of the world with that of the
reader. Both the reader and the book agrees upon the fact that the Indians and other tribal
were not much liked upon by the Indians themselves. It is because of this reason that there

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were tensions between the two groups on various matters. This is supported by the author in
the book herself when she states about her involvement in the Siege of the Wounded Knee
which caused her to get arrested by the authorities themselves.
As stated by Peters (2918) other points in the book that both the book and the author
agrees upon is the fact that the colour of one’s skin should not be a factor in deciding whether
that person should be included in the group or not. There are ample evidences in the story
which suggests that the author of the book and the reader agrees upon such a point.
"I should make clear that being a full-blood or breed is not a matter of bloodline, or
how Indian you look, or how black your hair is. The general rule is that whoever thinks,
sings, acts, and speaks Indian is a skin, a full-blood, and whoever acts and thinks like a
white man is a half-blood or breed, no matter how Indian he looks."
This quote is a perfect example of the agreement between the readers and the book. It
is evidenced by the fact that the author has protested against the concepts of the half-bloods
and the full-bloods in the book (Manygoats, 2019). The reader fully agrees with the author on
this point that the people should not be discriminated on the basis of the colour of their skin
or the region where they are actually from.
The author herself was discriminated as a half-blood because of he reason that she
belonged to an Indian as well as an American family. Therefore, the discrimination between
the people on the grounds of race, colour or creed forms the main point of the agreement
between the author and the readers of the book (Carcelen, 2015).
The third point in the book with which both the author and the reader agrees with is
that if an individual is being racist to some other person, he unknowingly is also giving birth
to racism inside that person himself. There is another quote in the book that supports the
claim made by the author in the book itself.

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“Racism breeds racism in reverse.”
Both the author and the readers agree on this point because of the fact because it is the
racist attitude of the white Americans had led to the racism of the Indians which caused
trouble between the two different groups in the society.
The book indeed teaches as well as changes the readers opinions of the world. The
book teaches the readers that the world is not really as nice a place as they think the world to
be (Bakke, 2017). This teaching is influenced by the evidences where the author has used the
information of the dislike and the racism among both the Americans and the tribal to impart
these lessons to the readers of the book.
Along with that the book also teaches the readers about the importance of equality for
the people of all classes and kinds whether they are Indians or Americans themselves.
“The thing to keep in mind is that laws are framed by those who happen to be in power
and for the purpose of keeping them in power.”
As stated by Boxer (2015), the book also teaches the readers the important fact that
the law of a country should bae made to keep the country safe and sound and to protect the
country from danger, and not to put the country into more danger.
The book “Lakota Woman”, personally addresses a lot of things to the readers which
gives them the idea about their family, community, ethnic groups or other communities .
“Don’t sell your land, don’t sell Grandmother Earth to the strip-mining outfits and the
uranium companies. Don’t sell your water.” That kind of advice is a threat to the
system and gets you into the penitentiary.”
This quote provides the readers with a very important message about their lives and
the communities that they represent in the country (Yowan, 2014). The book tells the readers

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not to give up their land no matter however important the reason is. The book calls for the
people to remain loyal to their motherland no matter whatever the problem is.
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that the book Lakota Woman indeed
teaches the readers about many important things in their lives and at the same time, it also
urges them to make protests against the concepts of racism or discrimination.
Finally, it can be said that the book portrays to the readers about the life and the
contributions of Mary Crow Dog who herself comes across as one of the bravest women to
ever to undertake the actions that she did in the book itself.

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Reference List
Bakke, K. (2015). Violence and Discrimination in Indian Country: A Reality for Native
American Women. Where the West Begins?, 18.
Boxer, M. (2017). Sioux Women: Traditionally Sacred by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve.
Great Plains Quarterly, 37(3), 247-247.
Breslin, K. Sherman Alexie: What the Indian Saw.
Carcelén, A. (2015). Weaving Abya-Yala: The Decolonial Aesthetics of Indigenous
Resistance. NEW DIVERSITIES, 17(1), 103.
Erdoes, R., & Dog, M. C. (2014). Lakota Woman. Open Road+ Grove/Atlantic.
Manygoats, R. (2019). Native American Women in the American Indian Movement.
Peters, M. (2018). Forgotten Women: The Involuntary Sterilization of American Indian
Women during the Twentieth Century.
Ross, J. I. (Ed.). (2013). American Indians at Risk [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO.
Yowan, R. J. (2014). The Impact of Empire on Native American Women and Mothers.