Racism was prevalent early on in the book. There were many stereotypical slurs and comments by whomever the author spoke to about the Indians. The very first example of racism I encountered was where the Hardin High School boys coach made a comment on the powwow going on he said, "a place where a bunch of Indians run around drunk and nothing starts on time" (11). The people around town more or less despise the Indians from the reservation as well. They feel that the Indians are ruining their business and making their scarce customers go away and not come back. It appears that this small town is stuck on age old stereotypes from the early 20th century. …
