Each of the four sections of the book covers a different phase of Momaday's career; thus it lends itself easily to four different discussions, covering the range of history to legends, the landscape and environment, other cultures and many other avenues.

1. How do the stories bring the shields alive? How do the stories enrich the images?

2. Based on the stories, what aspects of the shield are literal? What is figurative or symbolic? What do you learn about the cosmology of Momaday and of the Plains Indians?

3. How is the shield autobiographical (a material record of a life)?

4. How has Momaday preserved an oral tradition?

5. What legendary qualities of Billy the Kid does Momaday borrow from history?

6. What does he innovate? Do his innovations seem consistent with your understanding of history, sociology, the culture of the American West, etc.?

7. How does Momaday's depictions of the Western landscape...