“Go back to the place where the stories were left behind with our ancestors’ bones. That’s where you’ll find our family.”

Darlene’s advice to Rosalie encourages her to seek the past’s stories and reconnect with her family history. There are stories that Rosalie doesn’t know about herself, especially involving her mother, and she learns that the river—where her mother’s body remains—is the link from one part of her life to the next. This quotation also reflects how stories of what happened to Indigenous people, especially children, have been buried and forgotten.

“Everything I teach you is for survival. Every day is a test of your readiness.”

Ray wants his daughter to be strong and wise. Though their life at the rustic cabin is not easy, it toughens Rosalie and provides her with skills that will help her. Unfortunately, the loneliness she experiences from her father’s absences and being cut off from the rest of her family prepare her for a life of feeling alone and like an outsider.

“I didn’t know we were poor until social workers told me so.”

From an outsider’s view, living in a cabin without heat, electricity, or running water might seem like a hardship, but for Rosalie, it is just the way it is. She is loved, and her life is rich with lessons about the natural world and stories of her Dakhóta culture. This quotation is poignant when considered against the backdrop of how Indigenous children have been, and still are, removed from their homes and placed in foster care, sometimes simply because the social workers see poverty and equate it with neglect.