Many times, readers come across Native American literature, and suddenly, a strange awareness arises: if Native American mythology and culture is so beautiful and undeniably nuanced and artistic, why does it sometimes feel like no one knows anything about it?
That is exactly the main question that the novel asks. Why don't people treasure the Native heritage of the Americas? What is there to lose by cherishing those human lives and human stories? More importantly, the case could be made that an American who doesn't support Native culture is not a diversity-oriented person. Dan notices in the book that the main drama in America has been the mistreatment of black people by white people, but the Native American cultures were nearly obliterated by the same white traditions, but for Native Americans, there was never an effort to fix the societal brokenness. In the realm of racial reconciliation, the Native people often go completely overlooked.
The value of the stories is their meaning. Because they are human stories, they come from the human experience, so they are valuable for their humanity, for their archetypal folklore (which Jung and Campbell both write extensively about), and for the beauty and mystique of the Native point of view. We should treasure these stories as if they are part of what it means to be an American.
