Introduction and Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

The introduction and chapter one cover the author's introduction of himself and the reasons for his initial meeting with the old man he later calls Dan.

Introduction describes this novel, published in 1994 and updated in 2002, as taking place in current time and presents a non-fictional presentation of Lakota Indian themes, lifestyle and conflicts experienced by an eighty-some-year-old elder together with his family and friends. This is an enjoyable and light-hearted read despite its potentially heavy subject matter dealing with racial prejudice, genocide and inability of this respected and aging elder to forgive and forget the pains of his early life and that of his tribe. Kent Nerburn conceived this book idea on a hot August day's motorcycle ride across North Dakota. He came to a three-sided historical marker that enclosed a large boulder with a plaque on...