‘My parents’ usual roles had neatly revered themselves. My mother now represented practicality and expediency; my father now stood for moral absolutism.’

The shift in roles comes as a direct result of the murder, and his parents feeling about what will come next.... how best to protect everyone. Morality is a major theme that the characters grapple with in Montana 1948. At first, Gail appears to have a stable moral compass. Although Frank is her brother-in-law, and the beloved eldest son of her intimidating father-in-law, she still pushes Wesley to open an investigation. She reminds him everyone must pay for their sins and crimes, no matter who they or their victims are. As the stress and danger of the situation settles in however, Gail forsakes her morality and tells her husband to let Frank go, if it means that she, Wesley, and David will be safe again. Though she starts on a moral high ground, Gail allows her fear for herself and her family to supersede her morals.

Wesley similarly struggles with his own morals as the truth about his brother is revealed. At first he lets his loyalty to his big brother take precedence over his own sense of morality. When Frank confesses but claims he’ll stop assaulting and raping Native women, Wesley decides to let him walk free. However, Marie Little Soldier’s murder and Frank’s lack of remorse tip Wesley over the edge. In the end, his personal sense of morality wins over his ties to his family and his own prejudice against Native Americans. As he tells David the day he arrests Frank, “David, I believe that in this world people must pay for their crimes. It doesn’t matter who you are or who your relations are; if you do wrong, you pay. I believe that. I have to” (Watson 163). This quote and Wesley’s actions demonstrates that though he was forced to become sheriff by Grandpa Hayden, he does have some of the qualities sheriffs are known for—a sense of morality and justice being one of them.