The Oral Tradition

"SuAnne Big Crow will long be remembered on the Pine Ridge Reservation as a spunky young leader who could shoot a basketball like few others. A youth center has been built in her honor, and stories are still told of her achievements." South Dakota Road Stories, April 13, 2007. That is the beginning and there is a link to her winning shots at the basket in the 1989 Class A State Tournament. It is worth watching.

The first time I came across a story of this young girl was when I read an expert from "The Res" by Ian Frazier in The Atlantic magazine. Tonight I live again the spine tingling story I read years ago, probably on a trip to the Black Hills. It is told in an Easter Sermon of all places:

"As the Pine Ridge girls are lining up at the door waiting to go into the gym, they can hear the white fans of the Leed (sic) High School team chanting these fake Indian chants to mock the girls. The girls at the front of the line peek through the door, and see the fans waving food stamps to make fun of the Indians. And then someone hollers out, “Where’s the cheese? Where’s the cheese?”—the “joke” being that any time Indians are standing in line, it’s for government handouts.

The girl at the front of the line turns back to her team and says, “I can’t handle this.” Sue Anne steps up and says, “I’ll lead us out.” But the girl at the front of the line, Donny Dacori, is a little suspicious about why Sue Anne volunteered so quickly, so she says to her, “Don’t embarrass us.” And Sue Anne answers, “I won’t.”

Ian Frazier tells the rest of the story like this: “Donny gave her the ball and Sue Anne stood first in line. She went running onto the court dribbling the basketball, with her teammates close behind. On the court the noise was deafening. Sue Anne went right down the middle, and suddenly stopped when she got to center court. Her teammates were taken by surprise and some bumped into each other. Coach Zamiga, at the end of the line, didn’t know why they had stopped. Sue Anne turned to Donny Dacori and tossed her the ball. Then she stepped into the jump ball circle at center court facing the Leed fans. She unbuttoned her warm up jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and began to do the Lakota shawl dance.

Ian Frazier is interviewed by NPR and tells the story in his own words. It is better than reading it.