Gloku (symbol of love)
Waterlily is the daughter of Elk, who runs away after she is born. Blue Bird (Waterlily’s mother) is remarried to Rainbow, and Waterlily finds a new grandmother. Gloku loves Waterlily unconditionally, and she takes very good care of her as one of her biological grandchildren. Gloku’s love is rare in the practical world because people want to be affectionate to those related to them. Consequently, Gloku is a symbol of love, and she represents an exceptional human personality.
The Sun Dance Ceremony
The Sun Dance is a symbol of custom and cultural observance among the local people. All family members attend the Sun Dance. Rainbow takes his entire family and to the celebration, and Waterliy gets an opportunity to witness how it is done.
The American Horses
The two strong American horses owned by Waterlily’s uncle symbolize gratitude. After Gloku dies, Waterlily’s uncle wants to give away the two horses as a sign of gratitude in honor of Gloku. Unfortunately, the two horses are unceremoniously stolen. Waterlily feels sad and she sacrifices herself to get married so that two Horses can be given to her uncle as a dowry so that he can give them to honor Gloku as earlier planned.
Smallpox
The smallpox disease that infects the camp circle symbolizes destiny for Waterlily. Waterlily is married to Sacred Horse, not because of love, but the sacrifice she has to make in honor her late grandmother, Gloku. Waterlily is not in love with her husband because the only man she ever loved Lowanla, whom she had met at the Sun Dance festival, but they never got an opportunity to share their thoughts. When the smallpox disease infects the camp, Sacred Heart dies. After that, Sacred Heart's family suggests that his cousin should inherit Waterlily. The cousin (Lowanla) turns out to be Waterlily’s destiny because he is the one she met at the festival.
The marriage between Waterlily and Sacred Horse
The marriage between Waterlily and Sacred Horse symbolizes the societal culture of arranged marriages and inheritance. Sacred Heart's family arranges that he should marry Waterlily, and he does not reject it because that is how society expects him to behave. On the other hand, Blue Bird and Rainbow do not object to the marriage of their daughter because they want dowry. When Sacred Horse dies, Waterlily is inherited by Sacred Horse's cousin called Lowanla. All these events signify strong cultural beliefs of the Sioux society concerning marriage and inheritance.
