Ricky
Ricky is the first character we meet in the novel. He is a member of the Blackfeet tribe. He likes a drink and spends many days in the local bar. He has been friends with Lewis since they were little kids. Ricky participated in the forbidden hunt and in the killing of the elk.
The elk first appears to Ricky, appearing only in her animal form and not in her human form. He is led to his death by her appearance in the parking lot and is hunted down in the same way that he had hunted down the elk.
Lewis
Lewis is the central human character in the novel and it is he who makes the link between his participation in the hunt and the events that are happening around him.
Lewis grew up on the reservation but has improved his life, married a white woman and works as a mail carrier. He believes himself to be remorseful about the hunt in which he participated, and knows immediately that the elk has come back to avenge the murders of herself and her calf.
The Elk
The Elk appears both as a wild animal and as an elk-headed woman. She is a mother figure, and also a figure of revenge. She represents the power of mother love. She has a well-thought out plan of action and has returned specifically to avenge the murder of her unborn calf. Specifically she wants to kill the children of her killers, so that they too can feel the pain of seeing their calves murdered.
She takes on the form of Shaney and tries to teach Lewis about remorse through this human version of herself, but when she does not feel that he is sincere.
At the end of the novel, she finds the bones of her unborn calf and is able to take her back into the wild with her. She reverts to her animal form once this reunion has taken place.
Shaney
Shaney is a local woman who befriends Lewis to try to help him interpret his visions of the elk. As Lewis suspects, she is actually the human form of the elk he murdered as a boy. She is flirtatious with Lewis and this makes him uncomfortable. She also gives off a dangerous energy that disconcerts those around her.
After her "death" she reappears at the end of the novel and plays a game of basketball with Denorah, until an injury makes it impossible for her to continue to appear human.
Cass
Cass participated in the elk murders as a boy. He was walking a bad path for some time but after meeting his girlfriend Jo, he turned his life around. He gave up alcohol, got a job and became a far more productive person. He was also big enough to give credit for this transformation to Jo.
Gabe
Gabe is the fourth member of the group of friends involved in the elk murders. Unlike Cass, he has not turned his life around at all. He is deadbeat dad, although he does maintain contact with his daughter, and he is an alcoholic. He loves his daughter and has a strong parental instinct, offering to kill himself in return for her life.
Nathan
Nathan is the son of Victor, the local cop. He is lazy, an alcoholic and going nowhere in life. He has all but forgotten the traditions of the reservation and his father is hoping that participating in a sweat lodge will give him some direction and reconnect him with his heritage.Nathan is one of only two characters who survives their encounter with the elk.
Denorah
Denorah is Gabe's daughter, but has been raised more by her stepfather than by her father. She learned of the elk murders from her stepfather who was a game warden and who had broken up the illicit hunt. She is a strong character. Denorah is an outstanding basketball player and it is her talent for basketball that ends up physically outplaying the elk in human form, and ultimately revealing her and her intentions. Denorah survives the elk attack.
