Summary

In “Opbee Geimausaddle (2010),” Vincent’s niece Opbee did not know “Lena was Cherokee” until her funeral the previous year (202). She had lost touch with the family over the years. Then she started seeing “Ever at the gourd dance selling quilts” (203). The quilts reminded Opbee of Lena. Suddenly she remembered the quilt Lena had made for her years prior. She dug it out of her closet and discovered Lena had embroidered her name in the corner. The handwork was the same as those of the quilts Ever had sold at the dances.

Fearing that Lena’s legacy would be lost, Opbee devoted herself to recovering all of the quilts. She called around the community to see who had purchased them from Ever. The quilts made her memories come “flooding back” (209). She realized that Lena had made the quilts in order to...