Summary

The novel is written in short, separately titled parts that are organized by relevancy rather than chronological time. It begins with "Quiet Until the Thaw," when the third person omniscient narrator likening Rick Overlooking Horse to the titular Swampy Cree narrative naming poem to describe him as a quiet child, then man. His contemplative character is solidified by his discussions with his grandmother, Mina Overlooking Horse, about the concept of cyclical time and sharing breaths with all living things in ". At the age of nine, he questioned her belief that humans can choose when they are born. He acknowledged that he would not have chosen an unwilling caretaker at this point in Oglala Lakota Oyate history.

At age 18, You Choose Watson consumed three pounds of stolen sugar to appear unfit to serve in the Vietnam War. His name was...