Blues for Blue Bird
Chapter 2 begins with a description of the state of mind of Blue Bird. That state of mind is one that is not leaning toward the sunny side of the street. Why?
“Her childhood among her own many loving kinsman was a happy one, but that time was like a dream vanished.”
Smallpox in the Blanket
The legend—steeped deeply in some truth—is that much of the indigenous population of North America was purposely wiped out by the distribution of blankets from white settlers infected with the smallpox virus. The truth is that blankets were infested with the virus, but as to whether this was done with intent or purpose remains up for grabs. This tragic part of history is addressed in the novel and leads to a metaphorical bit of philosophy:
“Home is the place to die—unless it be the battlefield.”
Life and Death
At the very moment that Waterlily is giving birth in one tipi, life is finally, naturally, snuffed out of her grandfather lying in the tipi next door. This seems a rather peculiarly amazing coincidence to all but one wise elder in the tribe who observes with philosophical reasoning:
“Life never ends; it slows down but to pick and go on again.”
Dialectical Differences
Waterlilly and Prairie Flower are thrilled to be given the opportunity to hear representatives from the various factions of the Dakota tribe speaking. Though all Dakotas, they were not all Tetons and so Yankton-speaking and Santee-speaking can communicate with the Tetons well enough, but with slight variations resulting from divergences in the development of dialect:
“It is as though they were talking beyond a curtain—it comes out all right, but not too plainly.”
The Universal Bond
There are few truly universal common bonds that tie distinctly disparate cultures together over the span of generations and geography. One of them seems to be an obsessive metaphorical attachment to the value of virginity:
“Remember this: your purity is without price; guard it well…Men do not like a discarded woman any more than you like a discarded gown.”
