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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:
).
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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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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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:
).
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.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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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