The passing of times
Nanapush is narrating to his grown granddaughter about the history of the land. The granddaughter was left by her mother when she was a toddler. Nanapush keeps the girl occupied with his stories instead of thinking of her mother. Nanapush says, "My girl, I saw the passing times you will never know. I guided the last buffalo hunt. I saw the last bear shot. I trapped the last beaver with a spell of more than two years' growth. I spoke aloud the words of the government treaty and refused to sign the settlement papers that would take away our woods and lake."
The imager of Fleur
Lulu's mother left her many years ago, and the grandfather is giving an account of what happened with Fleur. Nanapush's narration and the description of Fleur depict the senses of hearing and sight to readers. Nanapush says, "She was so feverish that she had thrown off her covers, and now she huddled against the cold wood range, staring and shaking. She was wild as filthy wild, a big bony girl who sudden bursts of strength and snarling cries terrified the listening of Pukwan.”
The evil spirits
According to Nanapush, the evil spirits troubled the community, and he struggled for many years to keep his family free. He recalls that they did it in low tons whenever they discussed their family members to ensure that the evil spirits did not hear them mentioning names. Nanapush says, "We feared that they would hear us and never rest, come back out of pity for loneliness we felt.”
The tribal police
The regulations required the tribal policeman to bury the dead bodies belonging to Pillagers. The tribal policeman is the son of Pukwan. The narrator's description of the dark road that they followed to bury the bodies portrays the sense of sight. The narrator says, "A tribal police, Pukwan's son was forced by regulation to help bury the dead. So again, we took the dark road to Matchimanito, the son leading rather than the father."
