Their absence from medical schools was not evidence of lesser talent.

It reflected exclusion.

Susan herself understood that education created obligations.

She repeatedly used language about educated Native people becoming pioneers for their communities.

Some of her statements reflect the assimilationist thinking common among reformers of her era.

Modern readers may disagree with parts of that framework.

But her actions reveal where her loyalty remained.

She went home.

Again and again, Susan chose the reservation over easier alternatives.

That choice is what separates her story from a conventional tale of individual upward mobility.