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Beth Brownfield:
Beth Brownfield - Board Member of the Honor Foundation
Beth is affiliated with H.O.N.O.R. (Honor Our Neighbors Origins & Rights)
The following article written by Beth Brownfield:
I'll Lead You Out
SuAnne Big Crow's
Courageous Dance and the
Power of a Dream
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is a beautiful place to live but most people there are very poor. In fact, it is the poorest county in the entire United States. SuAnne Big Crow, an Oglala Lakota, was born and grew up in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pine Ridge was a dangerous place for children and SuAnne dreamed that one day it would be a "Happytown," a place where children were safe from drugs, alcohol, violence, and gangs. SuAnne believed that she could make a difference in her town.
"I'll lead you out"
SuAnne was a great athlete, especially at basketball. When she was 14, her basketball team went to Lead, South Dakota. The crowd from Lead was shouting and calling the Native Americans terrible names. SuAnne's team was afraid to go out onto the court. SuAnne said, "I'll lead you out." The team got behind her and SuAnne ran out into the noisy, angry crowd, and onto the court. When she reached the middle of the court SuAnne did a very brave thing. She stopped, took a jacket from her teammate, threw it around her shoulder like a shawl, and began to sing in Lakota and dance a beautiful Native American dance. Everybody in the entire stadium stopped talking, stopped yelling, and watched in silence as SuAnne sang and danced. When she finished, she grabbed the ball and started dribbling. The crowd went wild. They cheered and applauded. When they watched SuAnne sing and dance, they began to feel real respect for her Native American culture.
Keeping a dream alive
When SuAnne was 17, she died in a car accident. SuAnne's mother, Chick Big Crow wanted to keep her memory alive so she started a club for boys and girls called The SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club. It is a place where children can come after school and on weekends to play games, get help with homework, work on computers, and do arts and crafts. They also learn about SuAnne's life and are told they can be like her, proud of being Native American, doing their best, and making a difference in other people's lives.
Honoring a great culture
In the summer of 1999, seven adults from the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis went with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) to do volunteer work at the club. (See story on page 12.) We cleaned and painted rooms, and cleared a field for sports activities. We noticed that the club's library had few Native American books and learned that the closest library is two hours away. We decided we would buy books about Native American culture for the library.
Happytown
Back in Minneapolis we talked about our experience and told about SuAnne and her dream. We asked people for money to buy books and we raised over $4,500. The children of Pine Ridge can read these books to learn and feel proud of their heritage. The library at the Boys and Girls Club is a quiet place where children can find answers and get lost in a good story. For some children this library is the only place in their lives where they can read books like this. SuAnne's dream of helping make Pine Ridge Reservation a happy town lives on in this club.
You can contact the club at:
SuAnne Big Crow
Boys and Girls Club
P.O. Box 94
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
or visit their website:
www.suannebigcrow.org
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