FAIR's Rising Generation

SuAnne Big Crow lived in Pine Ridge, South Dakota in an aboriginal community. She was a star player on her high school basketball team, a motivated student, and a positive person. There’s an intriguing and well-known story about SuAnne that may or may not be true. The story goes that her basketball team was getting ready to play in a nearby town when the crowd in the bleachers started jeering and heckling her and her team mates. They allegedly made mock Indian battle cries and called out offensive racial slurs. SuAnne purportedly responded to this by performing a traditional shawl dance with her jacket while singing a Lakota song, thereby hushing the crowd and inspiring peace and reverance for her culture.

Like I said, this may or may not have happened. There are contradicting accounts of the night in question, with some people saying the story is completely fabricated, some saying it’s exaggerated, and some saying it’s bang on.

Regardless, SuAnne Big Crow did inspire, uplift, and motivate people; she did work to build her community; and she did fight social problems and racism facing aboriginals. Through her achievements as an athlete and a student, she was able to reach out to her peers. She spoke across the United States on the dangers of drugs and alcohol and made great strides toward fighting racial bigotry. She also dreamed of a youth facility in Pine Ridge that would facilitate growth and learning in young people.

SuAnne’s life was tragically cut short in a car accident before she was even able to attend college, but the Pine Ridge community started the SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club in her honour.

The gym shawl dance story is dramatic and interesting, but I think her positive attitude and lifetime of encouraging those around her are more impressive. I would rather think of her as someone who did the little things every day until they accumulated into her life’s achievements. It would be nice if we could resolve contention once and for all with a dance, but it’s really our daily conduct the that defines our legacy. Whether the story of the dance happened or not, SuAnne was an admirable person simply because she worked endlessly to instill confidence into people facing great challenges.

If you know of anyone, personally or not, living or dead, from near or abroad, let me know about them! I’ll add them to my list of awesome people who I will be highlighting weekly.