Summary

The year is 1864 and Red Dress narrates this chapter. She begins with a description of Father La Frambois, a Jesuit missionary. He has been coming around to her tribe for several years, preaching the Christian Gospel. Although Red Dress is grateful he has taught her to read, write, and speak English, she refuses to let him baptize her in the Missouri River. The priest has no respect for the Dakota traditions and beliefs, which are everything to Red Dress.

Despite the priest's best efforts, he is unable to convert even one of Red Dress's tribe. A large part the tribe's resistance is because of what Red Dress's father had seen happen to other tribes who traded with white people. These tribes became dependent on the goods the white people brought. Red Dress's tribe still carries on life in the traditional manner. She tells the priest they...