Throughout history many sects have been segregated from society and discriminated against by the overwhelming majority. When the people in the minority have fought back, it has often resulted in violence and inequity. At times the group that is discriminated against is a religious sect. When this occurs the people involved in the religion often turn to their faith for guidance, reassurement, and a way to protest the injustice against them. In the autobiography Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog, the author tells the story of how she experienced the Native American religion while being discriminated against by those who held power. Crow Dog is affected by religion in her youth, when she got involved with AIM, as well as in her married life. In
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When she first joined AIM she learned, “... all the old legends and the right way to put on a ritual…” (80) from the elderly in the society. Learning the rituals and legends was a protest against the white people in its own right. For many years the Indian religion was essentially outlawed, and even though it was legal to practice the Indian religion in Crow Dog’s time, to practice the rituals was to show the government they would not conform to their Christian ways. In fact Crow Dog states, “... the movement for Indian rights was first of all a spiritual movement and that our ancient religion was at the heart of it.” (92) Joining this movement was one way in which she could fight for her rights and, in her own way, practice her religion. While involved with AIM Crow Dog took part in a siege at Wounded Knee, in which members of AIM took control of Wounded Knee and tried to negotiate with the government for rights. Crow Dog was pregnant during this siege and when a cease fire occurred she was told by an AIM leader to leave. Her response to him was, “If I’m going to die, I’m going to die here. All that means anything to me is right here. I have nothing to live for out there.” (132) The people connected to her religion, and who helped her formulate a religious identity, one mostly centered on fighting for her rights, are the only people that matter to her. However, it is not just the people that surrounded her that mattered but also the rituals that occurred around her. One ritual performed during the siege was the Ghost Dance. Witnessing this dance gave Crow Dog the ability to connect with her ancestors in a spiritual manner. She stated, “And so the Sioux were ghost-dancing again, for the first time in over eighty years… Like the Ghost Dancers of old, many men danced barefoot in the snow around a
When she first joined AIM she learned, “... all the old legends and the right way to put on a ritual…” (80) from the elderly in the society. Learning the rituals and legends was a protest against the white people in its own right. For many years the Indian religion was essentially outlawed, and even though it was legal to practice the Indian religion in Crow Dog’s time, to practice the rituals was to show the government they would not conform to their Christian ways. In fact Crow Dog states, “... the movement for Indian rights was first of all a spiritual movement and that our ancient religion was at the heart of it.” (92) Joining this movement was one way in which she could fight for her rights and, in her own way, practice her religion. While involved with AIM Crow Dog took part in a siege at Wounded Knee, in which members of AIM took control of Wounded Knee and tried to negotiate with the government for rights. Crow Dog was pregnant during this siege and when a cease fire occurred she was told by an AIM leader to leave. Her response to him was, “If I’m going to die, I’m going to die here. All that means anything to me is right here. I have nothing to live for out there.” (132) The people connected to her religion, and who helped her formulate a religious identity, one mostly centered on fighting for her rights, are the only people that matter to her. However, it is not just the people that surrounded her that mattered but also the rituals that occurred around her. One ritual performed during the siege was the Ghost Dance. Witnessing this dance gave Crow Dog the ability to connect with her ancestors in a spiritual manner. She stated, “And so the Sioux were ghost-dancing again, for the first time in over eighty years… Like the Ghost Dancers of old, many men danced barefoot in the snow around a