66 pages • 2 hours read
Kathleen GrissomA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Farwell works on building the ranch, and Crow Mary is pregnant again. Red Fox often visits Farwell’s ranch, plays with Susie, and tells her stories. Susie asks her mother about Strong Bull, and she explains that in the Crow tribe, he is considered her brother. Susie approaches him, and he tells her that he will always protect her.
Crow Mary gives birth to a son with the help of two Crow women. Farwell names the baby Rosebud after his brother. Susie suggests that they call him Bud. Farwell continues working hard on the house, but Crow Mary notices his “foul mood” every time he returns from town. She worries that he is drinking again.
One evening, Farwell returns home with Stiller, upsetting Crow Mary. Stiller invites Farwell to drink to celebrate his new job as an agent interacting with Indigenous people on behalf of the US government. When Stiller sees Susie, he says that he has been looking for kids to send to school and suggests taking her. Crow Mary retorts that Susie will stay with her. Farwell knows there are schools on the reservations, but Stiller explains that a school has opened in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for Indigenous children. He describes the school’s philosophy, which involves taking away the children’s Indigenous clothes and cutting their hair to disconnect them from their traditional ways, and Crow Mary protests. Farwell leaves with Stiller and spends the night at the bunkhouse. Crow Mary hears loud voices and realizes that the men are all drunk. She sleeps with her guns behind her.
The next day, Farwell says that education would benefit the kids, as they would learn “how white people live” (277). Crow Mary asks him why he drank, and he says that he will not accept advice from his wife.
Farwell spends several evenings drinking with the workers. He tells Crow Mary that he wants to expand the ranch and make more money, but Crow Mary thinks they have enough. Susie helps her mother in various tasks, and the two bond over their love of horses. Farwell is particularly proud of his daughter, who speaks English and Crow.
Red Fox and Strong Bull visit the ranch, bringing horses as gifts for Farwell and Susie. Red Fox explains that Strong Bull and other young men gained the horses on a raid as they traditionally do. Farwell disapproves, reminding them of their agreement with the government. Strong Bull responds that he did not sign the treaty and that Crow men always raid and hunt. Farwell refuses to take the horses, which is an insult to the Crow. Strong Bull and Red Fox leave. Crow Mary complains to Farwell, and he explains that Strong Bull could go to prison for raiding.
Farwell is proud when he finishes their house and hires a cook named Burt to help Crow Mary. She likes the old white man immediately. The family also has good moments in the house, as Farwell teaches Susie and Crow Mary to read and write. Burt tells her that “[d]rink can make a good man bad and a bad man worse” (285). However, the distance between Crow Mary and Farwell grows. She tries to be intimate with him but remains angry and wonders why he keeps drinking. She continues to correspond with Jeannie and writes to her about the situation. Jeannie suggests that Farwell feels bad about the trial and drinks to forget.
Crow Mary is pregnant with her third child. Red Fox comes to stay with the family. Crow Mary and the children spend time in his tipi as he tells stories to them. Crow Mary rejoices at Red Fox’s presence, as the house feels “empty” to her. After another visit from Stiller, Farwell tells Crow Mary that he wants to send the children to school. Crow Mary protests and asks Red Fox for advice. Red Fox explains that the schools are bad places. Many are separated from their families, and Red Fox remembers a friend’s grandson who got ill and died there. He tells her to convince Farwell otherwise and advises her to stay on the ranch where the children have food and protection. Red Fox also knows Stiller, the agent who takes children away from their families. He tells Crow Mary that he is a bad man.
Crow Mary gives birth with the help of her father’s wife. The little girl is born weak but gradually gets well. Farwell names her Ella, and while Crow Mary wanted Red Fox to name her, Farwell says that his children cannot have “Indian names.” One day, Farwell tells Red Fox that the old way does not benefit the tribe. Red Fox says that the Crow people always live close to each other and cannot raise cattle. Farwell is angry, saying that they are going to starve. Crow Mary understands his concern, but Red Fox leaves. The next morning, Farwell brings gifts to Red Fox before he departs.
During the night, Farwell is severely sick and promises Crow Mary to stop drinking, saying that he loves her. He begins to recover, and she persuades him to stay at her tipi. Farwell explains that Indigenous people must learn the white way to survive. Despite their attempts to connect, Farwell struggles to be intimate with Crow Mary.
Stiller visits again, and Crow Mary worries that he will take the children. Stiller invites Farwell for drinks, and they leave together again.
Strong Bull visits Crow Mary and Farwell along with two friends. Crow Mary is proud of her brother, thinking that he will become a great chief. Strong Bull offers gifts to the children and asks for Farwell. Farwell and Strong Bull discuss. Farwell has already been drinking and offers the men whiskey, but they refuse. Strong Bull explains to Farwell that the Crow people want to preserve their traditions. The agency presses them to stop their ceremonies and start farming. The Crow, however, are willing to fight. Strong Bull finally asks Farwell for help, requesting guns. Farwell warns them that the military will kill them. Strong Bull retorts that people are already dying, but Farwell insists that the white men’s way is their only chance to survive. The men get angry and leave. Crow Mary and the children are hurt seeing Strong Bull leaving.
Farwell’s alcohol abuse continues, and Crow Mary finds support in Burt, who also cares for the children. Burt tells her that his son died due to alcohol addiction. Farwell remains distant from Crow Mary, Bud, and Ella, but she pays particular attention to Susie. Susie complains, realizing the tension between her parents.
Crow Mary thinks that she must separate from Farwell and return to her family to keep her children safe. Red Fox arrives bringing news that Strong Bull has been killed. Calling him a “true warrior,” he explains that Strong Bull participated in a raid with other Crow men and that as they returned, they shot their guns in the air. The agents considered it an “uprising,” and a battle with the army followed. Crow Mary tries to mourn her brother by cutting herself according to the Crow tradition, but Farwell stops her again.
Crow Mary decides to stay with Farwell, concerned about turmoil at the Crow agency. She wants to visit her father and Red Fox with the children. Farwell opposes this plan, fearing that she will not return if she goes. However, Crow Mary follows Red Fox’s advice, keeping the children with Farwell to be safe. Crow Mary sees the husband she loved losing himself, as he is constantly “tired and mean” (312). She is scared that Stiller might harm them if something happens to Farwell.
One morning, Farwell wants to take the children to spend the day at the river. Crow Mary sees that Farwell is not sober. The children assure her that they will be careful. Later, Ella runs back home, screaming that Stiller took her siblings away. Crow Mary and her daughter rush to the river, and she realizes that they took her children to the train station.
Crow Mary finds Farwell at the bunkhouse and tells him what happened. Farwell asks if they took Ella, and Crow Mary realizes that he arranged it. She pleads with him to get the children back, but he insists that he follows the law and that the Carlisle school will benefit them. He says that Stiller suggested that they take them secretly because she would refuse. Crow Mary is enraged and almost threatens him with a knife, but he warns her that if something happens to him, they will take Ella away.
Crow Mary stays at her tipi and sees little of Farwell. She does not recognize him anymore, as he looks older and disheveled. One day, Stiller visits the ranch, and Burt informs Crow Mary that the men are drunk. She goes to the bunkhouse and sees that Farwell is having a crisis and that Stiller is trying to help him. They lay him on a bed, and Farwell asks Crow Mary to stay with him.
Later, Crow Mary finds Stiller in the house. Stiller reminds her of when he hit his head. He tells her that Farwell will die soon, hinting that he is good at ranching and is looking for a different life. He suggests that if she remains alone, Ella will be taken away. Crow Mary understands that he is threatening her and has a “daring thought.” She asks for some time to think.
Considering how to kill Stiller, Crow Mary wonders if there is strychnine in the barn. She finds the bottles, wondering how much she should use, and puts some into the whiskey bottle. She hears a horse’s whinny outside and thinks that Stiller has returned earlier than expected. Despite her fear, she resolves to go out and find the man, thinking of Song Woman and Ella’s safety.
Instead of Stiller, Crow Mary finds Red Fox standing by her tipi. Red Fox tells her that he was hunting with Strong Bull’s friends when they encountered a snake that was as big as Stiller. He explains that a snake’s death in Sioux territory will not be attributed to the Crow. As he speaks, Crow Mary understands that the “snake” is Stiller. She wonders how Red Fox learned about his threats. Red Fox says that the snake had a “big mouth” and was talking about her. When Red Fox heard it, his heart revived like that of a young warrior.
Burt informs Crow Mary that Farwell is sick again. She sees that Farwell vomits blood. He asks for forgiveness, and moments later, he dies. While she had been expecting his death, grief overtakes her, and she mourns “the loss of what might have been” (329). Days later, a newspaper article refers to his death and his “false testimony” against his friends. Burt understands that the trial was a reason for Farwell’s alcohol abuse, but Crow Mary says that he could have stopped.
Crow Mary refuses to sell the ranch, waiting for her children to return. One day, she goes to the river with Ella and rereads Jeannie’s latest letter. Ella shouts as they see Red Fox with Bud beside him. Bud runs to them, and although he is grown, Crow Mary recognizes Farwell’s face in her son. Even though the boy was angry with his father, he cries over his death. Crow Mary prepares frybread and knows that Farwell would be proud of their son. As they eat, Bud explains that he escaped the Carlisle school with a Cheyenne boy. Crow Mary asks him where Susie is, and he says that she wanted to stay and will return after finishing school. Bud was also a good student and wrote for the school newspaper, but he left due to mistreatment, and Susie helped him escape.
Bud gives Crow Mary a letter from Susie saying that she wants to be a nurse and help Indigenous people. She stresses that nobody can take her “Crow blood” away and says that she looks forward to her return.
Red Fox tells Crow Mary that the reservation boundaries have changed again and that she can sell the land. There is an offer in cash by a gunslinger named Red-Eye Smith. Crow Mary agrees to a deal with the man.
Days later, Crow Mary goes to the Crow agency, asking for Stiller. When they confirm that he is gone, she mentions that she sold her ranch to Smith, with the stipulation that he protect her and her children. Smith warns that if anybody steals her children again, they will be killed. She finally claims land for her family.
Crow Mary is settled on Crow land, earning her “hard-won freedom” (340). Despite being on the reservation, she feels like she is “coming home.”
Tension continues to build in Crow Mary’s life on the Crow reservation, emphasizing the theme of Cultural Conflict and Cross-Cultural Understanding. Farwell manifests the colonial ideology through his obsession with ranch development and cattle raising. When Crow Mary questions his motives, Farwell explains that he wants profit: “It’s how I can make more money” (279). Farwell’s character adheres to a settler mentality that opposes Crow Mary’s values, signifying the cultural chasm that develops between them toward the end of the story. Farwell expects Crow Mary and her tribe to follow the white way of life. He does not want his children to have “Indian names” and suggests that education in residential schools will help them live like white people. Red Fox affirms the Crow tribe’s will to follow their tradition, but Farwell argues that assimilation into white society will help them survive: “Why don’t they understand that they will have to learn how to live like white people? It is the only way for them to survive” (294). Farwell demonstrates concern for the tribe’s well-being but supports the superiority of the Western way of life. His persistence in the colonial mindset impedes the possibilities for cross-cultural understanding.
Red Fox reassumes his role as an elder and guide of Crow youth, informing the theme of Colonial Trauma and Indigenous Survival. Amid her conflict with Farwell, Crow Mary and her children find comfort in Red Fox’s company and teachings. As an Indigenous elder, he preserves the tradition for future generations through storytelling: “He told us stories, those evenings, stories of the Old Woman’s Grandchild or Old Man Coyote—the same stories my grandmother had once told me” (287). Red Fox’s presence emphasizes the survival of Indigenous culture, suggesting the healing possibilities of traditional storytelling. Red Fox also analyzes the colonial trauma of Indigenous people, particularly that of Indigenous youth. He describes the traumatizing experience of residential schools, suggesting that such a school is a “bad place” where “children die” (289). Red Fox, however, counterbalances the colonial impact. His traditional teachings offer spiritual sustenance to Crow Mary’s children, paving the way to a decolonized mindset.
The symbol of the wolfers interconnects with the alcohol motif in the final section to highlight the destructive effects of colonialism as an ideology and practice. Stiller remains an ominous presence at the end of the story, as he is the main wolfer and a representation of settler colonialism. Stiller guides Farwell to his demise. He exacerbates Farwell’s alcohol addiction and instigates his estrangement from his family. Farwell agrees to separate his Indigenous children from Crow Mary, believing that they “need to learn how to live in the white man’s world” (317). Stiller abducts the children to send them to residential schools and also kills their dog, another symbol of the colonial project of killing the Indigenous spirit. Ultimately, Farwell is himself consumed by the tools of colonialism, killed by the alcohol addiction that colonialists have deliberately inflicted on Indigenous people.
Red Fox’s killing of Stiller is another representation of Indigenous survival. As Stiller threatens Crow Mary’s journey at the end of the story, Red Fox’s agency is key to the story’s resolution. After Red Fox learns about Stiller intimidating Crow Mary and threatening to take her daughter away, he kills him: “He was a snake with a big mouth, and one of your brother’s friends overheard his talk about you. Those young braves all wanted to earn a coup, but they gave me first chance and I hit my mark” (237). The metaphor of the “snake,” here signifying danger, suggests Stiller’s dubious relationship with the environment. Red Fox’s intervention as an Indigenous elder is an attempt to heal the destructive impact of colonialism and restore balance.
Crow Mary’s homecoming journey highlights The Resilience of Indigenous Women and touches on the issue of decolonization. Her son’s escape and return from residential school signifies a new start for her character. The text indicates that her children did not forget their Indigenous identities, as her daughter suggests that Indigenous people “carry [their] history and [their] ancestors within [them] (340). Hence, Grissom emphasizes that colonization can traumatize but not erase the Indigenous psyche, suggesting the possibilities of healing. Selling Farwell’s ranch to settle on a new, fertile allotment that will support her family’s sustenance, Crow Mary ensures the survival of her family and her culture. Though private land ownership contrasts with the decolonization concept of land reclamation premised on communal ownership, Crow Mary recognizes her land as both private and communal property. The text suggests that ancestral land is central to Indigenous identity and helps people reconnect with their inner selves: “Here was Crow land, where our mountains and our words were sacred” (340). Even though the Crow tribe is restricted in the reservation, Crow Mary finds community and belonging by reconnecting with her tribe on their ancestral land. This completes her homecoming journey, highlighting her survival and resilience.
By Kathleen Grissom