1. In the Native American story of the creation, Old Man, the creator, dies and sinks beneath the waters he has created. Is his death shocking? How can it be explained?

2. At the end of the novel, Anpao and Ko-ko-mik-e-is marry and stride off into the bottom of the lake together. How can this ending be explained? Is it a happy or sad ending? Does it have anything to do with the encroachment of white society at the end of the novel?

3. Throughout the novel, animals are often called "people." In what sense is this appropriate?

4. In the story of Snake Boy, the foolish boy eats the forbidden eggs and turns into a snake, but proceeds to live happily as a snake swimming around in the river. What is the intended moral of the story?

5. Highwater uses water symbolically in the novel. What are some...