Stealing Little Moon: Chapters Four–Six

by Dan SaSuWeh Jones
In this work of biographical nonfiction, Dan SaSuWeh Jones recounts his family's history at Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, starting with the kidnapping of his grandmother, Little Moon There Are No Stars Tonight.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction - Chapter Three, Chapter Four - Six, Chapters Seven - Ten, Chapter Eleven - Conclusion
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. deceptive
    deliberately designed to mislead
    In a forty-one-part report, America learned of the treatment forced upon the First Peoples of this nation. Broken treaties. Deceptive policies. Unfair legal actions. Decimation. Death.
  2. impassioned
    characterized by intense emotion
    An energetic and impassioned advocate for American Indian rights, his changes would shake up complacent school administrators and jump-start boarding school reform.
  3. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
    An energetic and impassioned advocate for American Indian rights, his changes would shake up complacent school administrators and jump-start boarding school reform.
  4. complacent
    contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
    An energetic and impassioned advocate for American Indian rights, his changes would shake up complacent school administrators and jump-start boarding school reform.
  5. prominence
    the state of being widely known or eminent
    Through the 1930s, women’s teams would also gain prominence.
  6. indoctrination
    teaching someone to accept beliefs uncritically
    In all the schools, athletic discipline was closely linked to military indoctrination.
  7. diminish
    decrease in size, extent, or range
    John Collier’s Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and related work may have helped diminish the role of boarding schools in the 1930s and 1940s.
  8. consummate
    complete and utter; without qualification or limitation
    For Charles’s “indomitable courage, consummate devotion to duty, and willing self-sacrifice,” his family later accepted the Congressional Medal of Honor in his name.
  9. autonomy
    political independence
    Since its passing, the Indian Reorganization Act had championed tribal autonomy and the return of tribal lands.
  10. quota
    a prescribed number
    Hog-tied, the children lay there as the superintendent and policeman traveled to the next village and the next, until their quota was filled.
  11. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    Their tables groaned with fresh fruits and vegetables, and with other delicacies, served on fancy plates with cups.
  12. alienate
    make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated
    It was another way to further alienate students from their families, by keeping them away from home year-round.
  13. reprimand
    rebuke formally
    As with other improvements to boarding schools, the Meriam Report and John Collier’s tenure in the Bureau of Indian Affairs led to many schools being reprimanded or closed for harmful behavior toward children.
  14. underscore
    give extra weight to
    They underscore the power of working together, while remaining unique.
  15. menagerie
    a collection of live animals for study or display
    Children at Rainy Mountain Boarding School used their Native skills to snare a menagerie of possums and raccoons for a circus.
Created on Wed Nov 19 08:49:25 EST 2025 (updated Tue Dec 23 17:27:57 EST 2025)

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