Orvil Red Feather also feels this tension. He wants to understand what it means to be Native, but he has to figure it out mostly on his own. He finds some connection through dancing at the powwow. Dene Oxendene uses modern technology to record Native stories, and that feels like a strong way to keep traditions alive while adapting to the world now. These characters show it is possible to balance both the past and the future when it’s done with respect and honesty.

The tension between modernity and tradition emerges throughout the narrative because it shows how Native Americans struggle between two worlds.  Even those who never grew up on a reservation and have lived in the city, they too struggle with their identity.  The characters in the chapter seek to find a balance between honoring the past and looking toward the future.  Tony Loneman struggled with his physical condition and learns to accept it.  Dene Oxendene is motivated by his uncle to continue his work in documenting Indian stories in Oakland.  Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield moved around with her mother and sister trying to find a stable home.  They ended up on an Island because they were promised by the government that they would be taken care of but that was not the case.  Once again, the government lied to the Native Americans.  The two Native sisters ended up moving forward in life by themselves.  Edwin Black has the sense of not belonging to a tribe.  He finds out that his father is Native American whom he never got to know.  He searches for him and finds him.  Edwin has a weight problem and he eventually decides to change his life around for the better.  The attempt to be successful is when all the characters realize that they need to rely on themselves to be successful. They all work hard to make improvements within themselves.

I've found peace within Opal's story, her story shows that it was a choice to keep her child, or to do away with it. I'm not sure the fate of what happens to the child, but it's a sad fate what natives must endure. our traditions pertain to the protection of life, but to give life at the wrong time is another subject entirely. arguably, tradition would still prevail, and cursing your child to live a life of disability because the parent wanted to be selfish is a different kind of hell the creator has planned for them. more contemporary literature i believe has a sense of realism embedded within its lessons, there are similarities within each work presented but Edwin's statement on page 77 is biased I'd say, I've heard his statement too many times. creativity comes from present belief, traditional values are a lot different in terms of preservation, but a lot of material produced by our culture is diluted with false idealisms of political activism. there are a lot of propaganda posts, but it's easier to create a post then to be involved with what truly matters.

Tony struggled to find peace, yet Dene dealt with passive aggressive attitudes and judged the world himself through a different lens, while Opal found her way through trial and error.

admirability remains with those who have lived, and tried within life.

Each Character in this story, whether Tony, Dene, or Opal, shows that they all face a similar problem: they suffer from cultural identity. People who are Native but aren't raised with Traditional knowledge or have any sense of their culture are easily caught with no identity in the Culture. Many of these problems that the Natives face in this book are the same ones that I see today in many people in my own life. It's incredibly challenging when you don't know who or the way your people go about things. Opal is the character I see the most who thinks a lot about her last name. Dene and the bond with his uncle sticks out to me as the characters struggle to balance past and present. These characters face many challenges and suffering in their correlating paths, but with these steps, they get closer to discovering who they are along the story.