The death of a friend
The inciting incident of the plot is the death of a friend. That death is symbolic because it is a painful reminder of a part of Seymour's identity that he chooses not to incorporate anymore in his daily identity. There are many people in his community who literally do not know he is from a Native American reservation. When Mouse dies, he has to go back into his past to mourn the death of his friend, but also the death of his relationship to the community and the death of his former identities.
The secret backstory
The symbolism of Seymour's relationship to his tribe is found in its secret nature. Notice that Seymour is a professional talker-about-himself, but his backstory is astonishingly private. This symbolizes the journey of shame that Seymour has endured. He chooses not to think about it because as his flashbacks prove, living as a gay teen in a conservative tribe was hellish and traumatic. When he goes back, he revisits hell and trauma while confronting the strange reality of death.
Rejected in his homelands
The symbolism of being rejected in one's homeland is archetypal. It points to Seymour as a kind of shaman who was rejected from community for not fitting the mold enough. As an archetypal outsider, his life involves incredible amounts of self-reflection and learning to appreciate himself, which makes Seymour a personality hero. He has the bravery to be the way he has always wanted to be—he just had to move from Washington to New York to find that bravery.
"Fancydancing"
The nickname for tribal dancing in the novel is a cultural allusion. "Fancydancing" is also important because Seymour is a poet by trade, so his selection of this language is obviously symbolic. The word is a double-entendre, because he is essentially similar to his Native American roots. Just as their costume and tradition does, his poetry is an interactive expression of his own identity. The reader sees that although he is not suited for life in his own tribe, it is still his first and only identity that he expresses; his various evolutions are part of his "dance."
The allegory of individualism
The book can be seen as a moralistic allegory defending individualism. Basically, the novel shows Seymour as a heavily-fated person; his journey is through the trials and tribulations of his own shame as his psychology tries to adjust from its original programming in the tribal conservatism of his reservation which is often frustrating and hypocritical, not to mention traumatizing. For these reasons, he must prioritize self-love and freedom of will to be who he really is, despite the intimate pain of tribal rejection.
