The author includes the following detail from her youth (paragraph 1) mainly to I came into my own as a Native American woman in high school. My skin being on the
fair side of plain Yoplait, I designated my dark brown hair as the body part that would
legitimize me, letting its split ends shoot for my waist. The U. S. Census Bureau reported
that in 2000, three Native Americans lived in Liberty Township, N. J.: my mom, my
brother, and me, all enrolled members of the Cowlitz tribe.
O explain why she became an activist
O demonstrate her vanity
show readers that she hated her small town
introduce the themes of identity and culture