Kryhoski is currently working as a freelance writer. She has also taught English Literature in addition to English as a Second Language overseas. In this essay, Kryhoski considers Erdrich's work in relation to the author's heritage.

"Story from Bear Country" offers a small sampling of Leslie Marmon Silko's ability to weave elements of her ethnicity into the fabric of her work. The poem moves with the rhythms and cadence or beat that is as haunting as it is mystical. The author's Laguna Pueblo (Native American) heritage drives the piece, providing both a traditional framework and a common natural theme, infusing "Story from Bear Country" with a unique sense of spirit and vision.

Silko spins the mystical story of Bear Country in the storytelling tradition characteristic of her Native American roots. The work first maintains an oral quality in its delivery, utilizing such repetitive phrases with slight variations...