Betrayal

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains explores the theme of betrayal in great depth in order to highlight how important trust is to the Ne-mee-poo. Trust exists and is consequently broken at multiple levels in the book, including the individual level, the tribe (or group) level, and the inter-group (or tribe versus white people) level.

On an individual level, betrayal occurs towards the end of the book when the trust placed in the Assiniboin people by Swan Necklace and Sound of Running Feet is broken within a matter of hours. They enter the Assiniboin village harboring no ill intent and are greeted with kindness, leading them to believe that they will be aided in their journey to the Old Lady’s Country. Soon after, however Charging Hawk murders Swan Necklace in order to marry Sound of Running Feet himself, and the trust which Sound of Running Feet...