Honor

Honor is a theme carried throughout this novel. Everything a Dakota does revolves around the honor the action holds or would bring to his or her family. The Dakota children were taught from a very early age to honor not only their parents and elders, but also their brothers and sisters as well as the entire Dakota tribe. When a child was born, the families would have a feast in that child's name, and this feast would bring honor to the baby as well as his or her family. It was a sign of honor for someone in your family to give a gift in your name, and gift exchanges were common in Dakota society. There is a story in this novel of a family whose young boy was killed by a fellow tribesman, and instead of the family of the slain boy seeking revenge against the boy...