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Show Page 27 For a very short time Ann did give up being a cowboy, however. During one of her summers at home she decided to "go Indian" instead. Ann had great respect for her Indian friends, believing them to be superior to many white people in their behavior and in their moral standards. She often wondered if the sympathy and understanding she felt for them had been given to her along with the milk of her foster mother, Seeabaka. That particular summer, becoming an Indian seemed especially attractive since, as Ann wrote in her autobiography, "I suddenly became bored with the annoying white tribe, their failure to understand my needs, and their narrowing restrictions, I decided to go Indian, for keeps." A Ute squaw friend had made Ann an outfit of beaded, fringed buckskins with jacket, divided skirt, and leggings. This, too, may have helped trigger her desire to "go Indian" that summer. The time she chose to do so, however, was unfortunately the same day distinguished guests were arriving, unknown to Ann. If Ann had known, she would have delayed her metamorphosis for a few days. But she didn't know, and she rambled nonchalantly into the living room all done up in war paint and eagle feather headdress, long braids and beaded moccasins. Ann described the surprised reactions of the gathered "white tribe:" |