She became active in temperance organizations and pressed for stronger enforcement.

She spoke publicly.

She traveled.

She asked officials to act against sellers who profited while reservation families absorbed the damage.

Modern readers should distinguish Susan’s activism from simplistic stereotypes about Native people and alcohol.

The problem was not some inherent Native weakness.

It existed within a history of commercial exploitation, trauma, poverty, legal manipulation, and uneven enforcement.

Susan focused on the practical effects she saw as a physician.

A doctor could treat an injury caused during a drunken conflict.

She could not prevent the next injury if the larger environment remained unchanged.