Who is Tate from The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa and what is their importance?

Tate was an Indian woman from the Yankton reservation. She was Gertrude's mother. She adored and loved Gertrude and taught her about traditional Indian ways. Keeping to Indian customs was important to Tate. She wanted to preserve the Indian way of life. She did not speak English or read in English and kept to the reservation her entire life. She did not understand the world of whites seeing them as mistrustful and greedy. The white man was a liar and the enemy. When the white man took away Gertrude for boarding school, it broke Tate's heart. But Tate was a strong woman who did not cry. Gertrude only saw Tate cry once and Tate told her to never speak of the tears. Tate wanted to set a strong, female example for Gertrude.