Part 3 (Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, Octavio Gomez, Daniel Gonzales) Summary

Opal knows Orvil is learning how to dance for the powwow behind her back, in regalia given to Opal by her old friend Lucas. Opal is forced to revisit the past when Orvil finds spider legs in his leg, as she did when she was 12—right before saving her sister Jacquie from being molested by the man they lived with after their mother’s death.

Octavio Gomez, the drug dealer, falls ill. His Native grandmother, Josefina, suggests he carries the family’s generational curse. She traps a badger, explaining that Octavio needs “badger medicine” to heal the curse and face himself without fear.

After his brother’s death, Daniel Gonzales, a young Native man living in Oakland, acquires a 3D printer. He uses it to print guns to support himself and his mother. His cousin Octavio Gomez buys the guns, telling Daniel of his plan to rob the upcoming powwow. Daniel buys a camera drone, which he flies to the Oakland Coliseum. There, maintenance man Bill Davis tries to chase down the drone.

Part 3 (Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, Octavio Gomez, Daniel Gonzales) Analysis

In these sections, the reader sees how several characters, in trying to overcome their tragic pasts, lead themselves into further tragedies of their own making. At the same time, the tragedies are at least partly the result of personal and cultural history. Orange presents the cycle of violence and loss as a trap that continues to ensnare modern Indians. Readers see a larger, shared cultural history as Orvil secretly learns how to powwow dance. They also see personal or familial histories, like the generational curse that haunts Octavio Gomez.