mother to daughter. In the novel, A Yellow in Blue Water, it was a tradition of their heritage, that Rayona, Christine, and Ida didn't forget. Braiding is mentioned throughout the entire novel in each story of the women.

An example of braiding and beauty tips is when Rayona is sitting next to her mother, Christine's, side in the hospital. "[Christine] ha[d] earlier spent twenty minutes pulling [Rayona's] long frizzy hair into a herringbone braid" because it was always something they could do together. Christine felt braiding was something she could always rely on to keep a common bond between them. The braiding gave Christine memory of her life at the reservation and she wanted to share this special tradition with her daughter. Consequently, Christine "tried to give [Rayona]

beauty magazine tips" to improve her appearance. Christine wanted her daughter to be as pretty as she could be. She didn't feel her daughter was ugly; she thought she wasn't showing her true beauty. Her mother gave her suggestions of "cosmetics to highlight [her] cheekbone of soften [her] chin, a blusher that might even [her] skin tone" so that she could be as p

The women and men on the reservation felt the need to braid their hair so that they could identify their heritage. Christine told Rayona that the braid "was to give [her] [her] identity" as a young girl on the reservation. Christine feels strongly that Rayona shall know her heritage and everything she can about it. She wants her daughter to understand the emotional power of the braids. When Rayona had taken the place of Foxy at the rodeo, they braided her hair into a "thick black braid" so they would not think Rayona was who she was. She gave up her identity as a girl by the braid and the help of some boys clothes. No one assumes anything was wrong when she has her hair in a braid. It was very usual for the boys to wear their hair up like this unlike in today's society. To show that Rayona is not at all a boy, she "knock[s] off [her] hat, undo[es] the rubber band, comb[s] with [her] fingers, and shake[s] out [her] braid" with all the pride of a young girl. The crowd soon takes notice that this young boy is not at all a boy, in fact a woman trying to take the place of the boy. The braids are not used to be a sexist symbol like we think of them as.

There were many times when Aunt Ida braided her own hair in order to release any type of stress that she might have felt when the children annoyed her.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Rayona Foxy, Aunt Ida, Christine Ida, Father Hurlburt, Consequently Christine, Aunt Ida's, , aunt ida, Blue Water, father hurlburt, braided hair, aunt ida braided, aunt ida's, hold braid, catching letting, identity girl, ida's hair, ida braided, aunt ida's hair, twisting tying,
Approximate Word count = 891
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)