66 pages • 2 hours read
Kathleen GrissomCrow Mary
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Prologue-Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Prologue Summary: “1891”
Content Warning: This section discusses racism, colonialism and colonial violence, sexual assault, alcohol addiction, death of an infant, and death of a loved one. The text contains offensive terminology against Indigenous people, which this guide reproduces only in quotations.
The story opens with Crow Mary in her ranch’s barn, searching for strychnine and wondering how much it would take to kill a man. She pours the substance into a whiskey bottle. She hears horses whinnying out in the corral and wonders if Stiller has arrived. She feels scared but remembers what he did to Song Woman and what could happen to her little daughter, Ella. Finally, she opens the barn door to face him.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “1863”
In 1863, seven-year-old Goes First lives in the Crow village with her family. Red Fox, her grandmother’s brother, returns injured from a Sioux raid. Goes First’s father, Chief Horse Guard, informs him that his sister was killed during another battle. Goes First’s mother tends to Red Fox’s wounds and sets up a tipi for him with the help of other women. Goes First is troubled by memories of her grandmother’s death. Later, Red Fox refuses to take a broth from his sister but accepts it from Goes First.
Goes First recalls last year’s war with the Sioux. Goes First notes that the Sioux, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho tribes allied to push the Crow away from their land, as they themselves had been pushed off their own land by white people. She remembers the traditional preparation of the Crow warriors and her grandmother’s terror as the alliance outnumbered the tribe. During the commotion, the women needed to bring ammunition. Goes First’s grandmother told her to remain hidden, but she followed her. Coming back for her granddaughter, the woman was shot and killed. Goes First remembers that her grandfather—a white trapper—spoke English with her.
Goes First’s mother advises her to call Red Fox “grandfather.” For days, Red Fox accepts food only from the girl, and as time passes, the two bond. Goes First tells him that she wants to be a warrior to be brave, but Red Fox explains that women are already brave. She confesses her guilt about not helping her grandmother when she died, and Red Fox comforts her, saying that young people often act out of fear. He also teaches her that brave people act despite their fear.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “1865”
Two years later, Goes First’s brother is born, receiving the name “Strong Bull” through a ceremony. Goes First adores her brother. Red Fox teaches Goes First to ride, and soon she becomes as good as the boys who are “training to be warriors” (18). The boys envy her riding skills. Red Fox gives her a knife as a gift, instructing her to always ask the deer for help when she uses it, as they will help her develop strength and agility. Goes First always keeps the weapon with her.
Red Fox also teaches Strong Bull to run fast like him. Goes First admires her brother’s skills, telling him that he will be a great warrior. She appreciates her time with him, knowing that they will not be able to address each other directly when they grow up.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “1870”
During the summer of 1870, the Crow bands reassemble; the women gather plants and fruit, and the men hunt. Every summer, Goes First eagerly awaits her grandmother’s friend Sees Much and her grandson, Big Cloud. As kids, Goes First and Big Cloud often quarreled. Now older, Goes First and Big Cloud see each other differently. She has grown tall and feels her body maturing, sensing “new power” as Big Cloud gazes at her.
As the young men of the tribe prepare for competitions and horse racing to join elder societies, Big Cloud realizes Goes First’s knowledge of horses and asks her to calm his own. He tells her that she would be a good wife, and she is pleased to think that he might be interested in marrying her.
Big Cloud wins many competitions and gains popularity among the young girls, making Goes First jealous. Red Fox advises her to pretend that she does not care and ignore him. Following Red Fox’s prompt, Goes First shows interest in other young men, and soon Big Cloud pursues her.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “1871”
Big Cloud visits Goes First’s father’s lodge asking for marriage. Her father agrees, but the couple must wait until Goes First is at least 16. At four years older than Goes First, Big Cloud is also expected to wait until he is 25 to marry unless he wins a coup against the tribe’s enemies earlier.
Goes First and Big Cloud spend time together as “young lovers” but avoid sexual intimacy. Big Cloud praises her, saying that as a future chief, he will need a strong woman as a wife. Soon, she learns that Big Cloud spends time with other girls. Her mother explains to her that men are “expected to have sweethearts” occasionally (28), even during a marriage. Goes First knows that the two Crow warrior societies compete in feats and war practices but also in stealing wives.
Goes First learns that White Wood, a beautiful woman from another Crow village, often steals other women’s lovers. One day, Goes First invites her to gather wood with her. White Wood hesitates but agrees. There, she praises Goes First for being “big” and “strong” says that she could never undertake hard work. White Wood does not like collecting wood or tanning animal hides. To scare her, Goes First tells her that when she is married to Big Cloud, he will bring her a woman from a rival society to work for her.
Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary: “1871”
The Crow warriors prepare for “horse stealing raids” (33), and Big Cloud resolves to win a coup to marry Goes First. The night before his departure, Goes First spends time alone in the mountains with him, feeling that she has everything she loves. Big Cloud confesses that he only wants her. Goes First is scared when she hears wolves howling and is worried about Big Cloud going on a raid. Big Cloud explains that the white wolf is his spirit animal and that its fur in his medicine bundle will always protect him. Big Cloud will not hunt the animal again and demands the same from Goes First.
After six days, Big Cloud returns with the victorious warrior party. Having won his coup, he is now free to marry Goes First. The next morning, they learn that his grandmother is ill. Big Cloud resolves to go buffalo hunting to bring meat, but his buffalo horse escapes. After a few days, the hunting group returns, but Goes First sees Big Cloud’s dead body on a horse. The men explain that a bull killed him after his horse threw him down. Sees Much also died while he was away.
Goes First leaves for the mountain close to the village. There, she mourns Big Cloud by cutting her skin. She spends two days crying to the Great Spirit to take her too, until she sees Big Cloud in a vision. Big Cloud gives her a white dog and says that it will bring her a new life. When she wakes, Red Fox finds her and leads her home. Back in the village, her mother tells her that she must return to life.
Prologue-Part 1 Analysis
The Prologue of the novel is an in medias res digression from the main narrative, situating the protagonist in the middle of the conflict with the antagonist and thus building tension. The rest of the story unfolds chronologically, placing the novel in a specific historical context. Crow Mary’s life story spans about three decades in the late 19th century, a period of crisis for Indigenous people confronting the effects of settler colonialism in Western North America. Grissom uses a first-person narrative to emphasize Crow Mary’s centrality as a character in this historical context and make her story personal and intimate for the reader. The first-person perspective empowers Crow Mary’s voice, allowing the author to delve into her emotions and worldview. Simultaneously, the first-person perspective raises questions about perspective and representational authority. Grissom keeps Crow Mary’s spiritual life private, respecting the sacredness of Indigenous ceremonies. This choice represents the author’s attempt to grapple with the limitations of the white perspectives on Indigenous stories and the tricky ethics of white authors representing Indigenous cultures. Despite these limitations, Grissom’s historical narrative aims to illuminate significant details about Crow Mary’s life and relations between Indigenous communities and white settlers that resonate with contemporary issues.
Part 1 focuses on Crow Mary’s childhood as Goes First, providing context on the pre-reservation life of the Crow tribe. Goes First's grandfather, a white fur trapper, indicates that colonization has already brought changes to Indigenous lives. Goes First understands English but grows up rooted in Crow culture, living a traditional and more balanced life. Her grandmother teaches her the crucial role of women in Crow matrilineal society. The Crow tribe leads a nomadic life where women own their tipi homes and are responsible for community well-being. Grissom delineates the marriage patterns and kinship systems of the Crow, which indicate the cultural nuances and complexities of Goes First’s first love story with Big Cloud, illuminating aspects of love, intimacy, and heartbreak within Crow culture. Colonization impacts Crow nomadic life and intensifies land conflicts among tribes, but Indigenous people strive to preserve their traditions.
As her grandmother’s loss traumatizes young Goes First, Red Fox functions as the keeper of the Crow tradition, highlighting the theme of Colonial Trauma and Indigenous Survival. As an elder and Goes First’s guide, Red Fox provides her with Crow values and practices that define her character. Goes First tells Red Fox about her desire to live with courage and bravery: “But I want to be brave […] I want to learn to ride and shoot a gun like the boys do” (15). Red Fox nurtures her personality as he teaches her how to shoot, run, and ride horses—traditionally male skills. His teachings interconnect with the theme of The Resilience of Indigenous Women, indicating the less rigid gender categories of Crow culture. While Goes First follows the traditional Crow women’s roles, she is also able to engage in practices and activities traditionally associated with men. Red Fox’s teachings challenge stereotypical notions of Indigenous manhood as he prompts Goes First to live like a “warrior” and a “brave.” He stresses that bravery is not a male trait but a person’s endeavor to fight against their fears: “[T]he brave take action in spite of [their] fear” (15). Red Fox’s lessons on humanity shape Goes First’s identity and ground her in the Crow tradition.
Nature is central to Goes First’s character and highlights the significance of the story’s setting. Goes First is connected to the landscape of her homeland, and through her Crow values, she has an understanding and relationship with animals and plants. Through Red Fox’s teachings, she develops a profound love for horses that becomes part of her identity. Grissom offers vivid imagery of the landscape through the description of the Crow land: “[H]undreds of lodges came together, the men hunted the plentiful elk, deer, and mountain sheep, and the women gathered fresh berries and turnips and their all-important medicine plants” (21). Goes First’s view of the landscape emphasizes her sense of belonging, balance, and community.
Through the Crow concept of the “spirit animal,” wolves and dogs emerge as important symbols in the novel. The spirit animal as part of Indigenous cultural traditions has been appropriated and distorted in the popular imagination. The narrative describes the spirit animal as a spiritual symbol that defines a Crow person’s life and character. As Big Cloud’s spirit animal, the wolf highlights his balanced relationship with nature, which later contrasts with the wolfers, as Big Cloud explains to Crow Mary that the hunting of a spirit animal is forbidden: “You already know that the white wolf is my medicine—my protector and spirit animal. With his fur as part of my medicine bundle, I will never hunt him again” (35). While Big Cloud views the wolf as sacred, the white wolfers view it as a mere commodity to be killed for profit. Goes First’s vision of Big Cloud and the white dog foreshadows a turning point in her life, thrusting her into a journey filled with cultural tension and conflict.
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