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Chess (Eunice) Warm Water
A Flathead Indian from Arlee, Montana, Checkers is described as perhaps the most beautiful Indian woman in all of America. She becomes a back-up singer in Coyote Springs, and falls in love with Father Arnold—she has a pattern of falling for older men, searching for stability within the precarious life of the reservation. Later she is haunted by dreams of Phil Sheridan, the time-traveling U.S. Army General, a figure of past suffering that haunts contemporary Native Americans. Checkers is very close with her sister, Chess, and the two sisters earned their money fighting forest fires in Montana before joining the band.
Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water Quotes in Reservation Blues
The Reservation Blues quotes below are all either spoken by Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water or refer to Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water. 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 5
Quotes
“Those white women are always perfect, you know? When I was little and we’d go to shop in Missoula, I’d see perfect little white girls all the time. They were always so pretty and clean. I’d come to town in my muddy dress. It never mattered how clean it was when we left Arlee. By the time we got to Missoula, it was always a mess.”
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Chapter 8
Quotes
“I remember once,” he said, “when I killed this Indian woman. I don’t even know what tribe she was. It was back in ’72. I rode up on her and ran my saber right through her heart. I thought that was it. But she jumped up and pulled me off my mount. I couldn’t believe it. I was so angry that I threw her to the ground and stomped her to death. It was then I noticed she was pregnant. We couldn’t have that. Nits make lice, you know? So I cut her belly open and pulled that fetus out. Then that baby bit me. Can you believe that.”
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Chapter 10
Quotes
In the blue van, Thomas, Chess, and Checkers sang together. They were alive; they’d keep living. They sang together with the shadow horses: we are alive, we’ll keep living. Songs were waiting for them up there in the dark. Songs were waiting for them in the city.
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Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water Quotes in Reservation Blues
The Reservation Blues quotes below are all either spoken by Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water or refer to Checkers (Gladys) Warm Water. 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 5
Quotes
“Those white women are always perfect, you know? When I was little and we’d go to shop in Missoula, I’d see perfect little white girls all the time. They were always so pretty and clean. I’d come to town in my muddy dress. It never mattered how clean it was when we left Arlee. By the time we got to Missoula, it was always a mess.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
“I remember once,” he said, “when I killed this Indian woman. I don’t even know what tribe she was. It was back in ’72. I rode up on her and ran my saber right through her heart. I thought that was it. But she jumped up and pulled me off my mount. I couldn’t believe it. I was so angry that I threw her to the ground and stomped her to death. It was then I noticed she was pregnant. We couldn’t have that. Nits make lice, you know? So I cut her belly open and pulled that fetus out. Then that baby bit me. Can you believe that.”
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Chapter 10
Quotes
In the blue van, Thomas, Chess, and Checkers sang together. They were alive; they’d keep living. They sang together with the shadow horses: we are alive, we’ll keep living. Songs were waiting for them up there in the dark. Songs were waiting for them in the city.
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