Waterlily, a novel written by Ella Cara Deloria in the early1940s, was not published until 1988, eighteen years after her death. The book is an attempt to capture the traditions of Dakota life before the changes that accompanied the westward expansion of America. Waterlily tells the story of Blue Bird and Waterlily, a mother and daughter who represent two generations of Sioux women. The setting is the Great Plains in the American Midwest. The Sioux people live a nomadic existence. Their social structure is the camp circle, or tiyospaye, which serves to foster relationships as well as breed conflicts. The saga is told through a third person point of view and focuses primarily on the female perspective and experience within the Dakota world.
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The baby is named Waterlily as Blue Bird is inspired by waterlily in a body of water in the area. Blue Bird returns to the camp and is tended to by her cousin. She thinks back to her life when she was fourteen years old and lost her family when their camp was attacked as she and her grandmother were out gathering food and firewood. They are then taken in by another camp circle nearby. Star Elk who is a member of the tribe proposes marriage to Blue Bird who accepts. The pair elopes which was not considered an acceptable way to begin a marriage. The union is, however, acknowledged because he did not dishonor Blue Bird. She is accepted by the family of Star Elk. Star Elk becomes a lazy husband who pays no attention to his wife. This flashback scene concludes with Blue Bird being happy with her baby. Star Elk attempts to bring shame to Blue Bird but his attempts only serve to lessen his own status as she has already proven that she is …show more content…
As he travels white settlers, or Long Knives, are mentioned for the first time when the Dakota men see their wagons. The women on the journey take notice of the clothing and the materials that the traders have. The Dakota people experience a Sun Dance, a very significant religious event for them. It is here that Waterlily encounters Lowanla who is a boy with a beautiful voice taking part in the ceremony. The boy promised the Great Spirit that that should his ill father recover, he would offer up one hundred pieces of his own flesh. He father does recover and he begins, during the ceremony, to make the cuts in his skin. After the first twenty, his aunts and sisters insist on taking the rest of the cuts themselves. Waterlily brings water to tend to Lowanla but decides to just slip it into his tipi and leaves unnoticed. She feels shame over this and decides to never tell anyone about
The baby is named Waterlily as Blue Bird is inspired by waterlily in a body of water in the area. Blue Bird returns to the camp and is tended to by her cousin. She thinks back to her life when she was fourteen years old and lost her family when their camp was attacked as she and her grandmother were out gathering food and firewood. They are then taken in by another camp circle nearby. Star Elk who is a member of the tribe proposes marriage to Blue Bird who accepts. The pair elopes which was not considered an acceptable way to begin a marriage. The union is, however, acknowledged because he did not dishonor Blue Bird. She is accepted by the family of Star Elk. Star Elk becomes a lazy husband who pays no attention to his wife. This flashback scene concludes with Blue Bird being happy with her baby. Star Elk attempts to bring shame to Blue Bird but his attempts only serve to lessen his own status as she has already proven that she is …show more content…
As he travels white settlers, or Long Knives, are mentioned for the first time when the Dakota men see their wagons. The women on the journey take notice of the clothing and the materials that the traders have. The Dakota people experience a Sun Dance, a very significant religious event for them. It is here that Waterlily encounters Lowanla who is a boy with a beautiful voice taking part in the ceremony. The boy promised the Great Spirit that that should his ill father recover, he would offer up one hundred pieces of his own flesh. He father does recover and he begins, during the ceremony, to make the cuts in his skin. After the first twenty, his aunts and sisters insist on taking the rest of the cuts themselves. Waterlily brings water to tend to Lowanla but decides to just slip it into his tipi and leaves unnoticed. She feels shame over this and decides to never tell anyone about