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Barbara
The first Crow Dog, who is also called Kangi-Shunka, founded the Crow Dog clan. He was a contemporary of Spotted Tail, but the two leaders had very different approaches in how to deal with the threat of white society. While Spotted Tail believed it was useless to try resisting the white colonizers, Crow Dog resisted. Mary implies that Crow Dog’s attitude set a precedent for his descendants, whom she describes as “a tribe apart.” Cultural traditions are alive among the clan, which suggests that Crow Dog’s resistance—and the continued resistance of his descendants—are what allow them to hold onto their culture and lifestyle, even in the midst of encroaching white society.
The First Crow Dog Quotes in Lakota Woman
The Lakota Woman quotes below are all either spoken by The First Crow Dog or refer to The First Crow Dog. 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 12
Quotes
The first Crow Dog was an outcast but also something of a hero. The Crow Dogs wrapped themselves in their pride as in a blanket. […] The first Crow Dog had shown them the way. As a chief he had the right to wear a war bonnet, but he never did. Instead he found somewhere an old, discarded white man’s cloth cap with a visor and to the top of it he fastened an eagle feather […] He used to say: “This white man’s cap that I am wearing means that I must live in the wasičun’s world, under his government. The eagle feather means that I, Crow Dog, do not let the wasičun’s world get the better of me, that I remain an Indian until the day I die.” […] [T]hat old cap became in the people’s mind a thing more splendid than any war bonnet.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The First Crow Dog Quotes in Lakota Woman
The Lakota Woman quotes below are all either spoken by The First Crow Dog or refer to The First Crow Dog. 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 12
Quotes
The first Crow Dog was an outcast but also something of a hero. The Crow Dogs wrapped themselves in their pride as in a blanket. […] The first Crow Dog had shown them the way. As a chief he had the right to wear a war bonnet, but he never did. Instead he found somewhere an old, discarded white man’s cloth cap with a visor and to the top of it he fastened an eagle feather […] He used to say: “This white man’s cap that I am wearing means that I must live in the wasičun’s world, under his government. The eagle feather means that I, Crow Dog, do not let the wasičun’s world get the better of me, that I remain an Indian until the day I die.” […] [T]hat old cap became in the people’s mind a thing more splendid than any war bonnet.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
