Summary

SuAnne Marie Big Crow was born March 15, 1974 at Pine Ridge Hospital to 25-year-old Chick Big Crow who already had two older daughters by another man and will not tell SuAnne who her father is. SuAnne is born during a dark time on the reservation, filled with violence related to conflict about the tribal government. SuAnne was an active child, but because her strict mother forbade her daughters to socialize outside of school, they had to make their own fun. Chick was always anti-drug and alcohol, and SuAnne took the same stance after watching her drunken godbrother shoot himself in the chest, and she often spoke on the topic - "SuAnne didn't respond to peer pressure; SuAnne was peer pressure. She was the backbone of any group she was in, and she was way wiser than her years" (page 204).

Though Chick forbade certain activities, she...