At this part of the book, the girls escape the Spanish town and find their way back to the tribe. The Spanish "Long Knives" tell the tribe they must leave their village or else they will use force. The tribe leaves, planning on coming back to their home once the Spanish have passed. But they watch from their temporary camp at the top of the canyon as the Spanish burn their homes and ruin their crops. The Spanish find out where the tribe is hiding and go up to where they are. They start the tribe marching away from their home, along with a number of other Navajo tribes.
This is the part where we are introduced to the Navajo migration to Fort Sumner. Bright Morning also becomes a woman in the traditional ceremony in this part of the book, so we are introduced to more Native American culture. The reader can identify more personally with Bright Morning because her character is becoming more developed and she is growing into a bigger role in the tribe.
Again, the specialized terms for Native American culture are used throughout this section with the fast-paced plot. It is very easy to understand everything that is happening even if you don't know anything about the history. I am getting really into the story now that the migration has started.
I think this would be a good book to use in a unit on Native Americans because it is easy to make connections with the characters and get the history. Students could make connections with the history and have a class discussion on justice.
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