Mean Spirit

Although action-packed, this portion of the text is also analytically rich, and it continues to develop many of the novel’s characters and themes. Nola’s character takes center stage, and through her, the novel engages with many of the issues that Osage women and children face. Corruption seems increasingly likely in Watona as suspicion grows about the town sheriff, and Stace Red Hawk’s involvement with the case speaks to a series of issues endemic to Indigenous communities not only in Watona, but in other parts of the United States. China, John Hale’s white girlfriend, becomes a foil for the character of Grace Blanket and illustrates the deep double standards that exist for Indigenous and white women.

The novel further develops the theme of Greed, Corruption, and Anti-Indigenous Racism through the sheriff, who begins to seem as though he might be involved in the corruption and murders that plague the community. He does not seem to want to blame Hale for the death of Walker, a man whom Hale had taken a life insurance policy out on not long before his death. Although the man had been sober, he is found reeking of wood alcohol, but the sheriff is reluctant to declare foul play. His intentions come under further suspicion when he begins to court Lettie. There are no innocent white residents in Watona, and the sheriff comes to embody corruption, greed, and racism almost as much as John Hale.

Stace Red Hawk begins his investigation, but the pushback he receives from his white superiors shows how endemic anti-Indigenous racism is in white America. He is accused both of exaggerating the connections between the deaths and only wanting to investigate because he himself is Indigenous, and those accusations reveal an inner prejudice that characterizes so many of the white Americans in this novel. Although he is Lakota and not Osage, Stace understands that violence within Indigenous communities often goes under-investigated, and he wants to use his power and authority to help Indigenous Americans find justice.

Nola’s story introduces another example of systemic anti-Indigenous racism. Grief-stricken over her mother’s death, she is forced to re-enter society when an official from her school threatens to send her to a boarding school. Boarding schools for Indigenous children are a shameful part of both US and Canadian history, and their inclusion in this novel roots the narrative into the lived experience of many Indigenous people. Boarding schools were compulsory for Indigenous children all over the United States for many years, and their goal, through separation from their families and harsh treatment, was to instill in them an appreciation for white culture. They were an assimilationist project that sought the erasure of Indigenous traditions, values, beliefs, practices, and even identity.

Nola vacillates between white and Osage culture throughout the text, developing the theme of Modernity and White Culture Versus Traditional Indigenous Practices. After she returns to school in Watona, she taunts her teachers by refusing to wear the uniform and instead dons traditional Osage clothing, which speaks to her interest in traditional Osage culture. However, she also accepts a marriage proposal from a white man during this section of the text, and at her wedding she mixes white and Osage customs, “[weaving] the old ways in with the new” in both dress and ceremony (179).

Although she attempts to bridge the gap between white culture and traditional Osage culture, she never fully embraces the white society in Watona. Her consciousness of The Exploitation of Indigenous People, Land, and Resources will plague her marriage, which the novel foreshadows in her father-in-law’s comment to Will: “She’s your paycheck” (189). Although Nola’s husband does seem genuine in his intentions toward her, because so many Osage women are exploited for their money, Nola can never trust Will.

On a day when everyone gathers in Watona, John Hale’s girlfriend, China, makes a spectacle of herself, but her public intoxication and wild partying are forgiven, whereas Grace was condemned for similar behavior. In this way, China becomes a foil for Grace and illustrates the depth of racism within the community. The Osage are consistently judged for behavior that is overlooked or permitted in white residents of Watona, and China’s behavior in this scene is an overt example of the double standards that exist between white and Indigenous members of the community.