The Medicine Bag

By: Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Devon Davis
 Summery: The Medicine Bag

The Medicine Bag by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve takes place in a city in Iowa specifically in
the home of a boy named Martin who lives with his mom, dad and sister Cheryl. Every year,
Martin and his sister would visit their Sioux Grandpa on the reservation he lived on, and later
brag to their friends about how cool he was. However, one day their Grandpa visits them in
Iowa and Martin is suddenly very embarrassed of him because he is not actually how he
described him to his friends. But when his friends finally meet him and love him he realized he
had nothing to be embarrassed of and should be proud of his Grandpa and his culture. Being
proud of who he is is significant because later in the story Martin learns the reason his Grandpa
is visiting. He is visiting because he is getting old and needed to share with Martin the story of a
their families Medicine Bag in order to pass it down to him. The bag contained a piece of iron
kettle found by the Grandpas father named Iron Shell and was meant to be passed to a male in
the next generation. The story and his Grandpa's visit helped Martin to except his culture and the
story ends with him visiting the Reservation so he can finally wear the Medicine Bag.
 Cultural Background: Sioux Tribe
The grandfather is part of the Sioux Tribe

● Where the culture lived

○ The Grandfather lived on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota
○ The Sioux Tribe is a cluster of Native American tribes and live throughout the Great Plains in
Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana
● Cultural values
○ For many Sioux people, the women focus on fertility and healing for the group, well the men are often
fierce warriors and hunters.
○ The Sioux people believe in the spirit Wakan Tanka who they believe is above all and where strength
and power flow from.
○ For the Sioux people, personal relationships, social bonds, family, combat, and religion are all very
important aspects of their culture.
○ The Sioux people feel a special bond among all living things, for example they feel the elk brings
strength, endurance, and patience and that it is a protector that can bring good omens to people.
● Occupations
○ The Sioux people were often hunter or fishers.
 Author Background: Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

The Author is Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

● She was born on February 21, 1933

● Similarly to the Grandpa in The Medicine Bag, she is a part of the Sioux Tribe, and was raised
on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

● Hawk Sneve attended South Dakota State University in order to get her Bachelors of Science
Degree. But she later switched to writing, starting off with her first fictional book, "Jimmy
Yellow Hawk.". This book successfully won a contest held by the Council on Interracial Books
and lead to her writing many fictional and nonfiction books about Native Americans.

● Hawk Sneve has since won many awards for her work, including the National Humanities
Medal, presented by President Bill Clinton. In fact, she was the first South Dakotan to receive
this award.
 Essential Question

How does the concept of identity, including individual, communal, and cultural
identity, manifest in Native American literature? How do Native American authors
navigate the complexities of cultural identity in their works?

In the Medicine Bag the idea of cultural identity was expressed through both the Grandpa
and Martin. For the Grandpa he is written as someone who doesn't necessarily fit native
american stereotypes in terms of appearance. But he is still very intact with his Native
Identity for example telling stories, and following traditions like the Medicine Bag.
Meanwhile Martin has some trouble accepting his Grandpa at the fear he will be mad fun
of for his appearance. By having Martin be ashamed of his Grandpa but later except him
and his culture shows one way the Author navigates the complexities of youth accepting
their cultural identities in modern society.
 Characters: Martin

Direct Characterization:
¨So when Grandpa came to visit us, I was so ashamed and embarrassed I could have died¨(cite)

Indirect Characterization:
¨Two weeks later I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the reservation and put the sacred sage in my
medicine bag¨(cite)
This reveles how Martins personality has changed from someone who was once embarrassed of his
culture to someone who is now able to embrace it. He embraces his culture because by visiting the
reservation and putting the sage in the medicine bag he is accepting his role as the carrier of the
medicine bag and following what his Grandpa asked of him.
 Characters: Grandpa/Joe Iron Shell

Direct Characterization:
¨He admitted sheepishly, he was lonesome after we left¨(cite)

Indirect Characterization:
¨But Grandpa knew and so he came to us. He had ridden on buses for two and a half days. When
he arrived in the city, tired and stiff from sitting for so long, he set out, walking, to find us.¨(cite)
This quote reveals that the Grandpa has a very do it yourself attitude and is a very motivated
person. His do it yourself attitude is revealed in the quote because he didn't tell anyone he was
coming instead figured out how to get their himself. Despite him needing to ride multiple busses
for days and walk through the city. The quote also shows he is very motivated since despite being
tired from all his travels he still set out walking to search for his family.
 Character: Cheryl
Direct Characterization:
¨Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa¨(cite)

Indirect Characterization:
¨the door open and Cheryl came bursting out of the house. She was all smiles¨(cite)

This quote reveals Cheryl was very excited and happy to see her Grandpa because the author says she
burst out of the house and was all smiles. The fact that she bursted out of the house can imply she was
so excited to see him since she was moving very fast to get to him. Meanwhile saying she was all
smiles implies she was happy because smiles are often an action of joy.
 Conflict

Man vs Man: Martin struggles with his own internal embarrassment of his
Grandpa despite also feeling ashamed for being embarrassed.

Man vs Society: Martin feels he needs to fit society's expectations and stereotypes
about what it means and looks like to be Native American especially when it
comes to his Grandpa.
 Significant Symbolism

Medicine Bag: I believe the Medicine Bag represents the relationship between Martin and his
Grandpa. I feel that in the beginning when Martin is still embarrassed of his Grandpa he does
not want to accept the medicine bag. But when he finally accepts his Grandpa and is no
longer ashamed of him he also accepts the Medicine Bag and wears it proudly. This
contributes to the overall idea of the text that you should accept people for who they are.

Martin putting on the Medicine Bag at the Reservation: I feel this moment in the text is
meant to represent Martin finally accepting his identity and culture, and not needing to fit a
specific stereotype. I think this because in the being of the story he was ashamed of his
Grandpa and did not want the medicine bag. But now he choosing to return to the reservation
on his own in order to accept the medicine bag how his Grandpa wanted him to.
 Theme Throughout the Story

Theme: In “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve the author conveys that it's
important to not judge someone by how they look and instead accept people for who they are.

The theme is developed when Martin is ashamed of his Grandpa and afraid he will be judged by
his friends because his Grandpa does not fit the Native American Stereotype. But once his
friends meet him and still find him and his stories fascinating Martin realizes he had nothing to
be ashamed about. So as the story continues Martin is now eager to hear about the Medicine
Bag and makes sure to follow his Grandpas instructions upon accepting it.

The theme contributes to my understanding of the essential question because not judging
someone on how they look and accepting people for who they are has to do with identity.
Specifically it is something many Native Americans including Martin have to go through in
order to navigate their cultural identity and accept it.
 Final Thoughts

My final thoughts on The Medicine Bag is I felt it was a very eye opening story that
gave me a new perspective on how stereotypes can be harmful. I felt this way because
I feel it's often portrayed in books and stories that kids want to fit in with society and
shy away from stereotypes about them. But in this case the Medicine Bag explored
the idea that Martin was embarrassed of his Grandpa because he fit more into modern
day society then Native American stereotypes, and because of this he thought his
friends wouldn't think his Grandpa was as cool as described. The fact that he was
embarrassed of him because he didn't fit stereotypes made me realize that stereotypes
can be harmful to people in many ways. In this case by limiting certain groups of
people in the ways they should act or appear in order to fit the stereotype that society
wants or pushes on them.
 Works Cited

“Sioux.” Dominican University, research.dom.edu/NativeAmericanStudies/sioux.

“Sioux Native Americans: Their History, Culture, and Traditions.” Native Hope Blog, Native Hope, 1 Aug. 2021,
blog.nativehope.org/sioux-native-americans-their-history-culture-and-traditions.
“Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve Papers.” South Dakota State University,
www.sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/virginia-driving-hawk-sneve-papers#:~:text=Virginia%20Driving%20Ha
wk%20Sneve%20(s,of%20the%20Rosebud%20Sioux%20Tribe. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.