# Dawée — American Indian Stories character guide

> Dawée in American Indian Stories by Zitkála-Šá.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0025-the-softhearted-sioux

## Snapshot

A young Sioux man caught between the traditions of his people and the demands of a world that keeps taking from them.

## Who they are

Dawée moves through the stories as a young man of the Dakota whose life is being reshaped by forces he did not choose, from the loss of land and water to the pull of white schooling and law. He carries the weight of his family's expectations while measuring himself against older warriors and the paleface world alike. His divided loyalties and quiet endurance make him a lens for the book's central question: what does a young Indian man owe his people when the ground beneath them is being taken?

## In the story

### [VII: The Big Red Apples](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/chapters/vii-the-big-red-apples)

The narrator's older brother, who returned from a three-year education in the East and influences the mother's decision to let the narrator go.

### [The Land of Red Apples](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/chapters/i-the-land-of-red-apples)

The narrator's brother, whom she pleads to see upon arriving at the school.

### [Four Strange Summers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/chapters/vi-four-strange-summers)

The narrator's older brother, who calls her 'baby sister' and does not fully understand her feelings; he prepares to attend a social gathering without her.

### [A Trip Westward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/chapters/ii-a-trip-westward)

The narrator's brother, formerly a government clerk, who lost his position after trying to secure justice for the tribe.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/characters/dawee
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/american_indian_stories_se/characters