Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lakota Woman, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Activism and Resistance
Assimilation, Tradition, and Identity
Unity, Inclusion, and Equality
Racism and Sexism
Summary
Analysis
Family relationships are very important to the Lakota. People often sacrifice all they have to help out relatives in need. Because of this, Mary is certain that “free enterprise has no future on the res.”
Mary immediately establishes that generosity within the extended family is valued in Lakota culture. By saying that “free enterprise” (the economic system in which private businesses compete against each other) “has no future on the res,” Mary is implying that the Lakota will never fully adopt white society’s economic system in which individuals look out for themselves before aiding their relatives and neighbors.
Themes
In traditional Lakota society, the tiyospaye, or “extended family,” is of paramount importance. When the tiyospaye was more prevalent, children typically grew up with multiple father and mother figures who taught them a variety of skills. Grandparents were revered, and they cared for the younger generation. White society and government deliberately dismantled the tiyospaye, which they saw as preventing the “civilization” of the Lakota.
Mary describes the tiyospaye and how it was a mutually beneficial system that aided the whole tribe while contributing to tribal unity: children had multiple parental figures and learned many talents, the younger and older generations had a strong rapport, and the tribe maintained its cultural identity and traditions. Because the U.S. government wanted the Lakota to assimilate to white society, they enacted policies that deliberately destroyed the tiyospaye and the strong tribal unity that it fostered. The implication is that the government knew that it would be easier to defeat Lakota tribes if they were internally divided into smaller family units, making each one easier to manipulate.
Themes
The white government forced the Lakota to live as nuclear families, each one with their own plot of land, which they hoped would “teach [the Lakota] the benefits of wholesome selfishness.” Some of the Lakota, particularly those of mixed race, were more amenable to this form of cultural brainwashing. As a result, many Lakota lost the tiyospaye. But they also don’t have the nuclear family—many Native American children simply grow up without their parents.
Mary explains one important reason behind the U.S. government’s efforts to destroy the tiyospaye—it became easier to take away the tribe’s land when it was subdivided and given to smaller family units. Instead of the tribe working together to sustain each other and to protect a communal area of land, the land belonged to individual families, each of which would have to withstand the temptation to sell their land to the government or white settlers to get money to support their individual families. Mary says that Lakota of mixed race were particularly easy for the government to manipulate, which implies that these individuals’ white ancestry and identity made them suggestible to the pressures of white society. Those who assimilated to the government’s demands lost the tiyospaye while never quite achieving the white standard of the nuclear family, which is more evidence that assimilation does not mitigate oppression—it only aided the U.S. government in their attempts to subjugate the Lakota people.
Themes
Mary never knew her biological father, a part-Native-American but mostly white man named Bill Moore. Claiming that he was tired of being around babies, Bill left Mary’s mother shortly after she got pregnant with Mary. Neither Mary’s mother nor Mary’s grandfather (Bill’s father) told Mary anything about Bill, except that he drank a lot. When Mary was about nine years old, her mother married an alcoholic who gave Mary and her siblings alcohol when she was only ten years old. Always uncomfortable when he was around, Mary avoided her mother’s house.
For the most part, Mary grew up without a father. Her biological father left her mother because he didn’t want to care for children, a fact that supports Mary’s earlier statement that many men within the Native American community see child-rearing as a female role. Both Mary’s biological father and her stepfather were heavy drinkers, which is reflective of how alcoholism is a significant issue on Native American reservations. In sum, Mary’s relationship (or lack thereof) with her father figures illustrates how she grew up with neither a tiyospaye nor a nuclear family.
Themes
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For several years, Mary did not get along with her mother. Since maturing, though, Mary realizes that her mother was in a tough position: she didn’t have much of a choice when choosing a partner, as generally all Native American men psychologically suffer from the racist and under-resourced environment that they lived in. Because the schools are poor and the men have few job opportunities, most men spend their time drinking.
Mary explains that, now that she is more mature and knowledgeable, she understands that her mother did not have many viable options for a good partner. She further explains how many Native American men cope with despair by drinking, leading to widespread alcoholism. With the lack of job opportunities or ability to sustain themselves and their families, as well as the racism they encounter, Native American men face many obstacles that detract from their ability to become reliable partners and fathers, which in turn affects women and children.
Themes
Mary’s mother was the sole financial provider in their household, which included Mary and her five siblings. Mary’s mother worked as a nurse at the only hospital that would offer her a job, in Pierre, a city about a hundred miles away. Because she didn’t have a car, Mary’s mother had her children live with their grandparents. As a result, Mary didn’t really know her mother until early adulthood.
Without a second parent with whom to raise her children, Mary’s mother shouldered the burden of providing for her whole family. Mary’s mother’s story is reflective of the many Native American women who, without their children’s fathers, struggle to raise children alone. The fact that Mary’s mother only found work in a distant city illustrates how job opportunities are scarce on reservations. With Mary’s mother’s work taking her far from her children, the family unit is further disrupted so children have neither the tiyospaye nor a nuclear family.
Themes
Mary counts herself and her siblings lucky, as they got to live with their loving grandparents instead of in a foster home, which is where many Native American children are sent—social workers often separate Native American children from their families, citing that the houses and families aren’t properly equipped or wealthy enough for children.
In addition to dismantling the tiyospaye, another of the U.S. government’s methods of forced assimilation is deliberately taking Native American children away from relatives under the guise of sending children to supposedly better environments. The irony is that the U.S. government’s policies are what entrenched Native American communities in the poverty that they (the government) cite as unsuitable for children. Mary says that she and her siblings were lucky because, even if they were poor, they were at least with Lakota relatives who loved them, which she suggests is better than being with wealthy white strangers.
Themes
Mary’s grandmother was a woman named Louise Flood. When Louise was young, each household in the tribe had a ration card that they used to purchase supplies, although the people selling the supplies often cheated the Native Americans out of portions of their purchases. Sometimes the tribe was given gaunt cattle from glue factories that the men could “play buffalo hunter[]” with.
Mary tells Louise’s story to illustrate the cruel conditions that the U.S. government forced upon the Lakota, regardless of whether they cooperated. The government controlled their resources and cheated the Lakota out of what little they had, and they made a mockery out of Lakota culture.
Themes
After her husband died, Mary’s grandmother was left with her four children, two of whom died from tuberculosis. She never received any records about her boys’ deaths—she only got the bodies to bury. Mary’s grandmother then married Noble Moore, whose son from a previous marriage, Bill Moore, later married Mary’s mother. Unlike his son, Noble Moore was a kind man who helped raise Mary and all her siblings. They lived together in a ramshackle house that had neither electricity nor plumbing.
The fact that the government did not provide Mary’s grandmother with the records of her sons’ deaths emphasizes the cruelty and callousness of the government toward Native American lives. The impoverished conditions that Mary, her siblings, and her grandparents lived in illustrate how the reservations designed by the U.S. government did not prioritize the well-being of the Lakota, including those, like Spotted Tail and his tribe, who cooperated—the government continued to oppress them regardless.
Themes
Even though Grandma Moore was a Catholic who wanted to raise her children to assimilate to white society “because she thought that was the only way for [them] to get ahead and lead a satisfying life,” she maintained many Lakota traditions. She spoke the Lakota language, taught her grandchildren the properties of various herbs, and always generously fed visitors, even if the family had little food. Because the family was so poor, Grandma was resourceful, taking the children to rummage sales for clothes and finding inventive ways to make sweet treats for the children for Christmas, a holiday they couldn’t afford to celebrate with a feast.
The loving and caring environment that Mary grew up in adds to Mary’s argument that it is preferable for Native American children to remain with their relatives—even if they’re poor—instead of being relocated to white foster homes. In addition to having their grandparents’ love, growing up with Lakota relatives exposed Mary and her siblings to Lakota culture. Mary explains that, while her grandmother did pressure Mary and her siblings to assimilate, they learned aspects of Lakota culture that they would not have learned in a white family. Mary’s grandmother’s attitudes toward assimilation reflect another way that Native Americans are pressured to assimilate to white society: there is a belief within their own community that adjusting to white society is the only way to thrive in a colonized environment. Mary shows that she does not agree with this resigned attitude, as she expresses gratitude that she was raised with some Lakota traditions.
Themes
When Mary was a young girl, she encountered racism, although she didn’t fully understand the significance of such incidents. For example, she was once denied purchasing an orange—the store owner said that she didn’t have enough money to purchase it—and a white woman loudly complained that Mary had soiled the oranges with her “dirty hands.”
Mary’s encounter with racism illustrates how, from a young age, white people discriminated against her and made degrading remarks about her because of her race. Throughout her life, racism shapes the oppression that she experiences.
Themes
Grandma Moore often told Mary to never go into white people’s homes. But one day, when Mary was young, a white girl whom she had befriended invited Mary into her house, adding that her mother wasn’t home. Mary entered and was astonished at all the girl’s toys. But their playing was interrupted when the girl’s mother started banging on the door of the house, yelling that Mary had locked her out and threatening to whip her. After running home to Grandma Moore, Mary explained the situation. When the white woman came running to beat Mary, Grandma scared the woman off.
The white girl’s deception and her white mother’s mistreatment of Mary illustrate how, from a young age, Mary faces a different form of oppression than white women. While sexism affects all women, Native Americans also experience racism, which complicates the oppression that they are subjected to. This story highlights how Native American women also experience racism at the hands of white women.
Themes
Although Mary asked Grandma Moore many times to teach her how to speak the Lakota language, Grandma refused, saying that the best way for Mary to achieve success in the world was to assimilate to white society. Mary acknowledges that Grandma (who had attended mission schools) believed she was helping Mary, but assimilation would not change who Mary was, nor how she felt about her identity.
Mary’s grandmother encouraged Mary to assimilate to white society, an attitude that reflects the pressure to assimilate that Native Americans experience within their communities. Surrounded by poverty and subjected to the mission schools’ anti-indigenous teachings, Mary’s grandmother believed that adapting to white society is the only way to escape to a more prosperous life. But Mary knew that assimilation would neither mitigate the racism she experienced—white society would always see her as a Native American and would discriminate against her because of it—nor would it alter the fact that Mary identifies as Lakota. Earlier, Mary described how her white ancestry only confused her—what she longs to do is learn more about her Lakota heritage.
Themes
Mary realized that if she wanted to learn about her identity, she would have to seek help from other elders. She went to her great-uncle Dick Fool Bull, who took her to her first peyote meeting, and her grandmother’s niece, Elsie Flood. Elsie was a “turtle woman,” which means that she was a resilient and independent person; turtles symbolize “strength, resolution, and long life.” Elsie was also a medicine woman and a talented artist. Years later, Elsie’s beaten body was found. The state never investigated her death. Mary still mourns the loss of the irreplaceable Elsie, with whom so much traditional wisdom died.
To learn more about her Lakota heritage, Mary seeks help from elders. The fact that Lakota cultural traditions are largely only known among elders illustrates how many Lakota traditions were dying with the older generation. Because the younger generations were forced to learn about and assimilate to white society, they did not learn the cultural traditions of their community. In this way, assimilation enacts a cultural genocide against Native American communities. Elsie Flood’s death doesn’t just demonstrate how cultural knowledge dies with elders whose communities have been forced to assimilate; it is also representative of the high rates of physical violence against Native American women, violence that the state rarely investigates. Whether the state didn’t investigate Elsie’s death because they had a hand in it (perhaps to prevent her from passing on her cultural knowledge to younger generations) is unknown, but it nonetheless shows how the state does not value Native American women’s lives.
Themes
Although Mary and her siblings lived in poverty, they were not angry or envious because they were not exposed to the wealthy—their fellow community members lived in the same state of poverty. Mary liked her home, whose crowded atmosphere only made her feel more loved. Plus, she still had access to horses, for “No matter how poor […] Sioux are, there are always a few ponies around.” Throughout her childhood, Mary’s loving grandparents cared for her, although they were unable to stop her from being taken away to boarding school.
Mary again emphasizes her gratitude for having grown up with her grandparents. Her family may have lived in poverty, but her exposure to Lakota culture was irreplaceable. Her regretful attitude that her grandparents hadn’t been able to stop her from going to one of the missionary boarding schools that forced children to assimilate to white society demonstrates her deep resentment toward assimilation.
Themes
