45 pages • 1 hour read
Susan PowerThe Grass Dancer
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1994A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Grass Dancer
The grass dancer is a motif that appears throughout the narrative, with multiple characters appearing as a grass dancer. Red Dress describes the grass dancer as “dancing a rebellion” (331). Historically, the grass dancer triumphed over enemies in intertribal warfare. In the novel, the enemies faced are different for each character who appears as this figure.
Pumpkin the character who introduces the grass dancer motif. Her choice to dress as a grass dancer shows both her commitment to cultural continuation and evolution. As it is a traditionally male outfit, her defiance of gender norms symbolizes her generation’s ability to embrace Indigenous identity in new era. This demonstrates a triumph over colonization, making Pumpkin a metaphoric warrior against genocidal forces of the past.
Harley’s initial inability to perform as a grass dancer reflects his inability to identify his role in his family and community. Only by forging this connection with the past can he understand his place in the present and become triumphant in his personal battle of identity. It is then that he learns the grass dancer’s purpose and is able to sing the honor song as a warrior triumphant against his own trauma.
The Medicine Hole
The medicine hole is a motif that represents spiritual connections and transitions. The first time it is mentioned, it appears in Archie Iron Necklace’s dream, where it acts as a means of escape for Archie, Herod, Frank, and Harley, who are being pursued by invaders. This vision symbolizes the survival journey these men and the broader Sioux people go through. Although they have been harshly persecuted, through the continual practice of their traditional ways, they have survived as individuals and as a collective.
When Herod seeks the medicine hole, it is revealed that he is the medicine hole. As a healer, Herod can act as a liaison between the ancestors and the living. He can also guide people along their personal transformations just as the warriors were guided from their pursuers in Archie’s vision.
Harley finds the medicine hole when he enters the vision pit. In his vision he must travel through the medicine hole, which “smelled of the grave” (328), to enter the spirit world, a transition symbolic of death. When Harley returns, he has gone through his own transformation. He is no longer searching for identity because he has forged a strong connection to his personal history and broader culture.
The Beaded Dress
Margaret Many Wounds asks Harley to retrieve her grandmother’s beaded dress, which has not been worn since it was added to a collection in a museum. This represents the colonial attitude toward Indigenous life. The dress was taken from its rightful owners and is displayed as a relic rather than a family heirloom that belongs to living people. This reflects the erroneous idea held by the museum and people outside the culture that Indigenous life is a thing of the past and not a living, breathing entity of today.
While the original dress remains in the museum, Lydia makes a dress of her own. She recreates her ancestors’ outfit with the same devotion and detail. The amount of work that goes to creating this item reflects the care and dedication Lydia has for her history and culture. For Lydia, this dress symbolizes the past and serves as a gateway to the future. She hopes to heal the wounds caused by the loss of the original dress and the deaths of Calvin and Duane, which left Lydia mute. It will also open a form of communication between her and Harley, which will strengthen their relationship into the future.
The Sacred Stones
The sacred stones are symbols that appear in a pair, suggesting the importance of duality in their purpose. When Red Dress finds the stones, she paints them red, “the color of life” (248). Red is the color of life because it is the color of blood. To save the lives of her people, Red Dress must take the lives of the invaders, spilling their blood. Thus, the duality of life and death must be balanced.
The stones also foreshadow future instances of duality, especially opposing forces. Christianity and Sioux religion, Indigenous identity and broader American identity, and individualism and collectivism all appear to be opposing forces in the novel. The characters must find a balance between these forces in order to thrive.
The Dying Birds
Charlene repeatedly dreams about little birds flying from Pumpkin’s mouth. The dreams begin after Pumpkin’s death and continue until the day Charlene leaves the reservation. The dying birds are a motif that represents Charlene’s guilt. Though Charlene herself did not cause Pumpkin’s death, she worries her grandmother killed Pumpkin to eliminate her as Charlene’s competition for Harley’s affection.
As time goes on, Charlene realizes that Anna is the root of the pain she is feeling surrounding Pumpkin. When Charlene finally leaves the reservation, her final vision of Pumpkin depicts living birds that fly from Pumpkin’s mouth into Charlene’s. This change represents the transformation Charlene has gone through. She is now free of guilt because she is free from Anna’s control. In recognizing this and forgiving herself, Charlene charts a new path forward.
