A Council of Dolls

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse, death, addiction, and substance use.

The narrator and protagonist of Parts 1 and 4 goes by the name “Sissy” in childhood and “Jesse” as an adult. Sissy grows up in Chicago, away from the North and South Dakota reservations where her ancestors lived for generations. Despite her distance—both in space and time—from the formal measures of forced assimilation and oppression her parents and grandparents lived through, Sissy still experiences a great deal of prejudice against Indigenous Americans. From the shopkeeper who urges her father to buy her a white doll instead of the Black doll Sissy wants to the glowers of other museum patrons when she and her father use their native language, Sissy’s story demonstrates the evolution of the conflict between Indigenous Americans and white America.

As a child, Sissy is characterized largely by her relationship with her mother, Lillian. Their dynamic, marked by both affection and abuse, constitutes a primary conflict for Sissy. Lillian’s charismatic personality and intense mood swings overshadow Sissy, making her feel that her needs are secondary. Never knowing what will trigger Lillian’s temper leaves Sissy fearful and in a near-constant state of anxiety.