The Odissimaa Bag
The novel opens with a short chapter printed entirely in italics, which is a clear indication that it should probably be taken symbolically. The chapter’s title, “The Odissimaa Bag” refers to small pouch made from deerskin which contains the umbilical cord of an infant wrapped in dried sweetgrass. This pouch was subsequently buried in the earth where it has been covered over a layer of leaves falling in autumn, snow falling in winter, summer moss and mud from the showers of spring. What is buried is not always forgotten, however, and may at any time according to the fickle quality of fate reappear without warning. This symbolism also serves as foreshadowing of other things which will be figurative buried over the course of the narrative with the persistent promise of returning.
Margie’s Frybread Secret
Although the focus upon frybread is a clue that it is to be considered symbolically as well as literally, the real symbolism attached to it comes with the revelation of part of Margie’s secret for making the best frybread on the reservation: a combination of unrequited love, the LaForce land allotment, not too much sugar, and—essential for connectivity—Zho Washington’s grandmother. That these things are the secret to Margie making the best frybread speaks to the symbolism of connectedness which is a thematic element that is literally pursued as part of the narrative.
Washington
One of the family names on the reservation—including the most important male character in the story, Michael—is Washington. The very quality of this name being somewhat jarring is a clue that it is to be interpreted symbolically. The name is just one of many elements in the story that allude to the persistent manner in which Native American culture has been written by white society to conform to its expectations.
Dr. Rogers-Head
Dr. Rogers-Head is a college professor who teaches a class called “Indians of America.” Although that distinctive name must surely be a very specific symbol of something more precise, it is her overall bearing that is of utmost symbolic value. She is a representative of the failure of the liberal upper level secondary education system in America to properly teach Native America culture history. She is well-meaning enough, to a point, but ultimately a personal failure as well as a symbol of systemic failure.
Mr. Gunderson
Mr. Gunderson may sport an almost impossibly stereotypical upper Midwest name, but his symbolic reaches much more broadly. He works for the federal government as part of a program that seeks out high-performing Native American high school students interested in taking part of a relocation program to improve the economic potential that would otherwise be wasted by staying on reservations. Unfortunately, the opportunities that are offered are really just human resource hiring shortcuts for America’s biggest monopolies. Mr. Gunderson therefore is a symbol of the long, unbroken history of the American government failing first to understand Native American needs which inevitably leads to failing to meet them.
