Blossom/The Reserve

Blossom is a small prairie town in the province of Alberta, Canada. The Sun Dance prairie, the Grand Baleen Dam, and the reserve are all in Blossom. Most of the characters in this novel are from the reserve in Blossom. Blossom symbolizes a place of community and home, though this provides tension for characters who desire a more urban lifestyle than the quaint, more traditional reserve community. The plot is contingent upon the characters reconvening together in Blossom.

The Sun Dance Camp

The prairie where the Sun Dance is held is right outside of the Blossom reserve. The Sun Dance camp is described with reverence; it is a beautiful, serene, and remote place. In many ways, the Sun Dance camp mirrors the prairie settings in classic Western films, and thus draws in non-Indigenous tourists. As readers learn, however, this event is spiritual beyond words and vital...