Summary
The fourth volume is labelled as "North/Blue" in the Cherokee syllabary. Hawkeye begins the final creation story, focused on Old Woman. Old Woman begins digging a hole in pursuit of a tender root she wants to eat, and digs and digs until she falls through the sky and into the water. When she lands, she encounters a young man walking on water, who immediately lays out rules for her to follow. He is trying to rescue a group of people trapped on a boat rocking on the waves but is going about it the wrong way. Old Woman helps him but her contribution is quickly discredited, so she floats off.
After the movie ends, Bursum plays the tape over and over, trying to get it to return to the original ending. Lionel and Eli leave for lunch, and the four elders also depart, joined a short time later by Coyote. As they drive, Eli talks to Lionel about his plans for the future, but is also distracted by remembering how his wife Karen was killed in a car accident just as her health seemed to be improving. The accident happened just after he had agreed to finally take her back to the Sundance, and Eli has always regretted they never got to go. Spontaneously, Eli drives Lionel out to where the teepees have been assembled for the Sundance festival. Lionel is at first hesitant, but his family is happy to see him, and he comes to feel peaceful there.
After Babo and Dr. Hovaugh realize their car is gone, they try to rent another but are unable to get one, and end up booking seats on a tour bus that will take them near the reservation and up to the dam.
At the Dead Dog Café, Latisha catches sight of Alberta standing outside in the rain. By the time she gets inside, she is soaking wet. As she dries off, Alberta tells Latisha about her troubles and her worries about what to do in order to have the child she wants. When Latisha mentions she is driving out to the Sundance, Alberta decides to go with her. When they arrive, Alberta is still feeling sick, and both Norma and Latisha have begun to suspect that she is pregnant.
Alberta is shocked to learn that Lionel is also at the Sundance, but Latisha is even more shocked when her ex-husband George appears. George is now working as a photojournalist and wants to take pictures at the Sundance, which is forbidden and makes Latisha very uncomfortable. As she argues with him, Lionel shows up with the four elders and is quickly joined by Eli, his father, and Alberta. They confront him and force him to throw out the film with the picture he’s been taking. George leaves in anger, and the elders tell Lionel that they have now helped fix his life. The elders depart and the festival carries on.
Analysis
The fourth creation story continues the theme of undermining the authority of Biblical figures. Having begun with Old Testament stories (the Book of Genesis, and the story of Noah), this final creation story now features an encounter with the figure of Jesus, called the Young Man Walking on Water. Like the others before him, the Young Man is insistent on asserting his authority over Old Woman by laying down rules for her to follow. At the same time, he tries to assert his authority over the natural world in a pushy and aggressive way, and it is Old Woman’s gentler and more respectful approach that finally calms the waves. While his followers do briefly recognize that it was actually Old Woman who saved them, they are quickly persuaded to forget this information and redirect their worship to the Young Man. This reflects how the achievements of women and people of color can quickly be forgotten and overshadowed in historical memory.
The contemporary plot lines in this section largely focus on themes of surrender and the acceptance of a lack of control. Although Alberta has been desperate to have a child, she is in denial when she starts to show unmistakable signs of pregnancy. It seems impossible to her that a decision which has been weighing on her so heavily has simply been made for her. Likewise for Lionel, decisions about a new direction for his future start to take shape without his conscious control as he finds himself unexpectedly at the Sundance, and being assisted by the elders in reconnecting with a more empowered version of himself. That Lionel’s new path seems to be rooted in a reconnection with his family and cultural roots suggests that he will be more motivated and competent when he accepts himself for who he is, rather than operating largely within a non-Aboriginal model of success.
Along with helping Lionel, the elders also assist the community in driving out George. George represents an intruder and someone who shows no respect for Blackfoot traditions. His desire to take pictures is driven by a motive to make money by selling them and he does not care about the consent of the individuals involved in the ritual. George’s aggressive and entitled behavior reveals that he believes he has the right to access sacred Blackfoot rituals at any time. This behavior mirrors the mindset of European conquerors who entered into Aboriginal lands where cultures and histories were already established and decided they were entitled to participate in, and even control, these practices.
The fact that George is fixated on taking pictures is important because it highlights a problem that the novel has to grapple with. On one hand, King is adamant on the inclusion of different voices and perspectives, and on making the Native experience a part of culture for everyone to experience. At the same time, trying to document that experience can risk being exploitative, in the way that George’s photography is invasive and inappropriate. By showing a range of Aboriginal experiences, and presenting Blackfoot individuals as complex characters, King makes sure that his representations are respectful and genuine, not just exoticized images.
