Lakota: Blood

        In "Lakota Woman"it seems that there is always an issue of blood. Mary is not fully Sioux and so in all aspects of her life she feels out of place. She is not considered white enough to be treated like some of the "mostly white" girls when she is in school. She is also not Indian enough to be respected by full blooded people. It seems that whether she is lashing out against whites or trying to make peace she is never fully accepted.
       Also, the issue of blood comes into play in other ways as well. It seems white people wanted those of mixed race to be political officials rather then full blooded Indians. This was an insult as the tribe already had chiefs and elected officials, but when the government stepped in they chose the more "white" of the reservation.
      Another example of mixed blood scenarios is also when discussing alcohol in the towns. It may not be ironic that Mary, being of mixed race was represented as one with the least problems with alcohol later on in life. While she was exposed to it and use it at a young age, so ends up abstaining from it later on while many people acquire serious problems with it.
     It seems that the issues of "bloodedness" are of high concern to the people of the Lakota's just as in the history of African Americans. I had always looked at both "races" as being oppressed but never considered the blood aspect of Native Americans. I have always imagined that it would be hard to tell exactly how much of one is white or Native American, so it never really occurred to me until reading this book.