One of the main themes of this novel is also one of the main points of conflict: people’s relationship with the land they are on. Beyond the issue of ownership—ranging from colonization to Mangenta’s restrictive contracts and patents—the novel delves into how the characters view themselves with regard to the land.

After the Prologue, Rosalie’s story starts with her recollecting stories her father told her about the Dakhóta people’s origins. Her voice doesn’t appear until nearly two pages into Chapter 1. By putting Ray’s stories about the origins and the land at the front, the author is underlining the importance of what he’s expressing, that as Dakhótas, “our survival depends on knowing how to be a good relative, especially to Iná Maka, Mother Earth” (6). He goes on to talk about how the prairie was before the arrival of white settlers, who “came with their plows and destroyed the prairie in a single lifetime” (7). Rosalie muses about how he might feel if he lived to see her married to a white farmer on a farm that had once been prairie.

It is noteworthy that Rosalie does not comment about how John’s or her neighbors’ farming practices affect the land until she learns about environmental issues, such as the effects of pesticide and fertilizer usage and the depletion of topsoil.