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Henry Crow Dog
Annie Mae Aquash was a Micmac Native American woman and one of Mary’s best friends. Mary describes her as a hard-working, determined, and energetic woman who was fully dedicated to the fight for Native American civil rights. In fact, Annie Mae was so devoted to the cause that she asked her sister to raise her children for her, which emphasizes how highly Annie Mae prioritized activism. Like many of the Native Americans whom Mary discusses in her memoir, Annie Mae sought out opportunities to engage with her indigenous heritage. Because “her Micmac people were losing their culture and language,” Annie Mae learned Lakota traditions and some of the Lakota language as well. Annie Mae’s engagement with Lakota traditions is an example of how intertribal cultural exchanges can help Native Americans feel more connected with their indigenous identity. As with several other American Indian Movement (AIM) activists, Annie Mae was persecuted by the federal government. When she went missing, and her dead body was discovered in the snow, Annie Mae’s friends and family were immediately suspicious. The FBI mutilated her corpse, which showed signs of rape, and declared that she died from exposure, even though a second autopsy showed that she had been shot in the head, execution style. The circumstances of Annie Mae’s death and the FBI’s dismissal of the case imply that the government executed her. This betrays the government’s racist policies and intentions to eliminate Native American activists, as well as the sexual violence that Native American women like Annie Mae are often subjected to.
Annie Mae Aquash Quotes in Lakota Woman
The Lakota Woman quotes below are all either spoken by Annie Mae Aquash or refer to Annie Mae Aquash. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 13 Quotes
Annie Mae still traveled a lot. Wherever Indians fought for their rights, Annie Mae was there. She helped the Menominee warriors take over a monastery. She told me that she was packing a gun. She said, “If any of my brothers are in a position where they’re being shot at, or being killed, I go there to fight with them. I’d rather die than stand by and see them destroyed.”
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Mary has just explained how Annie Mae Aquash was very aware that the U.S. government wanted to arrest or kill her, the implication being that the government saw her militant resistance against white society as a threat. But the possibility of death or imprisonment didn’t stop Annie Mae from traveling the country to participate in demonstrations and protests for Native American civil rights. As Mary puts it, “wherever Indians fought for their rights, Annie Mae was there.” Her willingness to die for the cause emphasizes how dearly she valued activism and suggests that she found resistance empowering and validating. Annie Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus
Chapter 16 Quotes
I pierced too, together with many other women […] I did not feel any pain because I was in the power. I was looking into the clouds, into the sun. Brightness filled my mind […] In the almost unbearable brightness, in the clouds, I saw people. I could see those who had died. I could see Pedro Bissonette […] Buddy Lamont […] I saw the face of my friend Annie Mae Aquash, smiling at me. I could hear the spirits speaking to me through the eagle-bone whistles […] I felt nothing and, at the same time, everything. It was at that moment that I, a white-educated half-blood, became wholly Indian. I experienced a great rush of happiness.
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In this passage, Mary describes her participation in a Sun Dance. The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony traditional to the Lakota in which individuals make sacrifices for their community. While participating in the Sun Dance, Mary describes how she felt “in the power.” While feeling the spiritual power, she couldn’t feel pain, but she did see the faces of beloved indigenous friends who had died. The implication is that the ceremony helped connect her to them—she even says that she could “hear the spirits speaking to [her]” during the ceremony. While participating in the Sun Dance and feeling “in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perf
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Annie Mae Aquash Character Timeline in Lakota Woman
The timeline below shows where the character Annie Mae Aquash appears in Lakota Woman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: A Woman from He-Dog
Mary describes the deaths of two Native American women: her best friend Annie Mae Aquash and Delphine, her sister-in-law. The fierce and tough Annie Mae was murdered by a gunshot,...
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Chapter 4: Drinking and Fighting
...while Mary was in Washington State with her husband Leonard, her son Pedro, her friend Annie Mae , and another Lakota leader, two white men approached Mary’s group while they were packing...
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Chapter 9: The Siege
It was during the siege that Mary had a chance to meet Annie Mae Aquash , a Micmac woman who became one of Mary's dearest friends. They met when Annie...
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Chapter 11: Birth Giving
...was comforted by the fact that she had many devoted friends staying by her side. Annie Mae Aquash and Josette Wawasik acted as midwives, and Pedro Bissonette checked in on her throughout the...
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Chapter 13: Two Cut-off Hands
Mary describes her beloved friend Annie Mae as a kind-hearted woman and a force to be reckoned with. Annie Mae was diligent,...
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Mary provides Annie Mae ’s backstory. A Micmac woman, Annie Mae’s experience living on a reserve in Canada was...
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Annie Mae left her reserve at the age of 17. She went to Boston, where she married...
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Around 1972, Annie Mae fell in love with another Native American man named Nogeeshik Aquash. They were both dedicated...
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After leaving Nogeeshik, Annie Mae moved onto Mary and Leonard’s land, where she built a tipi and lived simply. She...
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...with spies and informers, which only added to the paranoia. Leaders began suspecting one another; Annie Mae became one of the people whom certain AIM leaders began to suspect. One night, Annie...
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...FBI agents that resulted in the deaths of one Native American and two FBI agents. Annie Mae ’s close friend Leonard Peltier was a wanted man after this incident, even though the...
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In 1975, about 180 government agents stormed the Crow Dogs’ property to arrest Annie Mae , who was staying with Mary and Leonard Crow Dog at the time. Once they...
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In November 1975, Annie Mae vanished. In early March 1976, her body—which bore signs of rape—was found on Pine Ridge...
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Shifting to the present, Mary mourns the loss of her dear friend Annie Mae , who had sacrificed herself for the AIM cause.
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