Who is Tashi and why do Tashi's parents come to see Nettie?

Tashi is a girl in the Olinka village. Tashi is torn between her Olinka culture and the more modern world that Nettie and Olivia introduce to her. After years with Nettie and Olivia, Catherine realizes that education is important and that she is free to change her views once her husband is dead. Not officially educated, Tashi learns from Olivia but succumbs to the tribal ceremonies of scarring and the female initiation ceremony.