They call me Agnes

by Fred W. Voget

In They Call Me Agnes, the narrator, Agnes Deernose, provides a warm, personal view of Crow Indian family life and culture. In the lives of Agnes Deernose and her family the reader sees both resistance to and acceptance of change. Staunch supporters of the Baptist church, the Deernose family nevertheless found ways to accommodate the traditional religion, particularly the Crow belief in Akbatatdea, the Creator. Through Agnes's account the reader attains a sense of how the Crows integrated religion, family structure, political and social activities, the distribution of wealth, and education - even as the fabric of their traditional ways unraveled about them.