Point of View

The narrator of this novel is complicated to categorize. Overall, the point of view is third person omniscient because the narrator enters the minds of many different characters. Yet the narrator shifts to first person, using the first person singular pronoun, I, and plural pronoun, we. By doing this, the narrator associates him/herself with the Oglala Lakota Indians. At points, the narrator even refers directly to the reader in the second person, you, to evoke emotions of empathy and bridge the gap between the reader and the subjects of the novel.

The narrator spends the most time in the minds of Rick Overlooking Horse and You Choose Watson, who are the most important characters because they set the binary between White and Lakota cultures. The narrator chooses specific moments to highlight in the men’s lives to exemplify their different perspectives, which are described...