Lakota Woman

Discuss the dichotomy between the Sioux lifestyle and the white man’s lifestyle as presented in Lakota Woman. How, according to Crow Dog, is the white man’s lifestyle less rational and less purposeful? How is the white man’s attempt to “civilize” the Sioux ironic?

Throughout Lakota Woman, Crow Dog notes several examples of Native Americans dying for their cause, the right to freedom and to reject Christianization. Discuss the concept of sacrifice, paying special attention to figures such as Kangi-Shunka and Annie Mae Aquash, as well as to how ceremonies—for example, the Sun Dance, the Ghost Dance, and the vision quest—reiterate the importance of sacrifice.

Discuss the theme of identity in Lakota Woman. Why does Crow Dog struggle to identify with any group or community? How do her decisions reflect her search for identity?

How does the tale of Leonard Crow Dog’s great-grandfather, the original Crow Dog, encapsulate the beliefs of the Crow Dog family and affect how they identify themselves? How has Leonard been influenced by his ancestor, and why does the author struggle, at first, to live up to this legend?

Explain the importance of the Ghost Dance, both in its original manifestation and in its revival during the second Wounded Knee. Why did the religion come to Wovoka? What about it touched the people so deeply at that particular time? What is the significance of Leonard’s reviving it when and where he did, and how does it restore the sacred hoop?

Consider Crow Dog’s statement that “the Indian drinking problem” is actually “a white problem” (54). How is this a quintessential example of the effects of white oppression on the Sioux? What other problems are introduced to the Sioux by white people? In what ways does this oppression in fact create the problems the Sioux are criticized for? 

Discuss the concept of “whitemanizing.” Who in Lakota Woman “whitemanizes,” and why? Consider Crow Dog’s mother and grandmother, Chief Spotted Tail, and Dicky Wilson.

What is the “curious contradiction in Sioux society” in regard to women? How has the Sioux attitude toward women been affected by white oppression? Why, according to Crow Dog, is it “hard being an Indian woman” (4)?