Summary

It is 1970, and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield and Jacquie Red Feather are half-sisters, sharing their mother, Vicky. Opal’s name sits uncomfortably: it confuses her, and her classmates mock her. When Vicky comes home with a swollen face to another eviction notice, she announces they will move to Alcatraz. Opal packs only two outfits and her teddy bear, Two Shoes. On the bus, she asks Vicky why they are moving to the island, and Vicky explains about the Indians of All Tribes movement and reoccupation. Opal is used to Vicky’s mysterious, jumbled declarations.

The first day, everyone eats beef stew around a bonfire, and Jacquie and Opal happily joke that they “could live like this” (49). Opal is shocked when they sleep on blankets in the old jail cells, however; no matter how unstable their lives were, they always stayed...