Want to hear an inspirational story? Let me tell you about a teenager from a South Dakota Indian reservation who, through one spontaneous act, transformed an athletic event marred by racism into a celebration of Native American culture and pride.

In the fall of 1988, the Pine Ridge Lady Thorpes traveled to Lead to play a basketball game. Freshman player SuAnne Big Crow heard the belligerent crowd yelling fake Indian war cries and epithets like “squaw” and “gut-eater.” Many waved food stamps. Others yelled, “Where’s the cheese?” – the joke being that if Indians were lining up, it must be to get commodity cheese.

The usual pre-game warm-up plan was for the visiting team to enter in a line, lap the court a few times, shoot some baskets and return to the bench, followed by the home-team entrance and the beginning of the game.

But in the midst of intense heckling, the Thorpes tallest player, Doni DeCory – usually first on the court – balked at going first. So SuAnne volunteered, stood first, ran out on the court dribbling the ball, went right down the middle and suddenly stopped!

Taken by surprise, teammates watched SuAnne toss the ball to DeCory, take off her warm-up jacket, drape it over her shoulders, and begin to perform the traditional Lakota shawl dance – a young woman’s graceful, modest, and show-offy dance. SuAnne sang in Lakota, swaying back and forth as the crowd went completely silent.

SuAnne then took the ball, dribbled expertly to the basket, and laid the ball through the hoop, with Lead fans now cheering loudly. Pine Ridge went on to win that game and the state championship. Subsequently, Lead fans and Pine Ridge supporters got along well.

SuAnne (who died in an auto accident at age 18 in 1992) was a legendary promoter of cultural understanding – a star athlete, first in her class, and a crusader against drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and gangs.

She was, foremost, a young woman who opposed bigotry and worked for reconciliation between races. SuAnne brought truth to power – making an offering to a world that didn’t even know it was starving till she fed it on courage and passion.

So what does her story mean for us today? We stand where we stand – on little plots of ground – in our homes, offices, classrooms, congregations, factories, fields, or community groups.

And it is sacred ground if only we would honor it, bringing to it a blessing and risk and sacrifice, just as that gym at Lead, S.D. was suddenly sanctified by one young woman – dancing and singing – the clarity of her spirit speaking to a hate-filled world and transforming that gym with faith.

By itself, the story of SuAnne Big Crow can’t keep us motivated and active in the face of massive government corruption and greed, lies, disregard of human rights, and violence.

But her story might stimulate a few of you to seek some worthwhile goals and dreams of what could be. After all, isn’t it those little things – wonderful synergies, amazing coincidences, and sudden discoveries of beauty – that offer each of us daily nourishment?

SuAnne Big Crow didn’t succumb to fear and doubt. She found the strength to act courageously, planting herself at the “gates of hope.”

Of course, most of us will follow the path of least resistance. And that’s understandable. But maybe SuAnne’s story can trigger a call to do what we can – in our own ways – according to our own abilities and accomplishments.

So when we feel boxed in and helpless in the face of vast institutional forces – let’s stop, take a breath, and think about some small way to act. A letter, a phone call, a campaign we can help promote, or a person we can approach who just might get others to listen. Instead of obsessing about how awful the situation is, why not focus on ways to chip away at the problem? Use our strengths for what we believe. At least, get back in “the game.”

Democracy needs us all – the heroic few and the humble many – whether our acts are performed center court or in the wings, heralded by none but friends and family. Not to “play,” however, is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play – to act – is to create at least some small possibility of changing our world.

Observer columnist Robert Brake – indebted to Ian Frazier’s story of SuAnne Big Crow in “On the Rez” – can be reached at oobear@centurytel.net