Towards the end of the novel, Fools Crow visits the mythic Feather Woman who shows him a magic yellow hide. The hide reveals several premonitions to Fools Crow that prophesize the future of the Blackfoot. In the first vision depicts a village surrounded by horses. “Fools Crow was confused by the proximity of the sacred lodges by whiteness” (Welch, 356). The whiteness in question is an allusion on the part of Welch to signify the presence of the Napikwan. The first vision depicts the agony of sickness with countless being affected or killed as a result. “The white-scabs disease has reached us, thought Fools Crow. We did not act quickly enough. We did not go north to the land of the Siksikas. It will only be a matter of time before all of the Lone …show more content…
This infestation would be catastrophic for many Native American tribes, resulting in a massive amount of deaths. The novel depicts the beginnings of this plague as it starts to manifest, and many have begun to come down with smallpox by the end of the novel. The second vision depicts an unnamed massacre of a Blackfoot camp. Given the date of the novel and the location, the historically savvy reader can infer that this refers to the historic Marias Massacre. On January 23, 1870, Colonel Eugene Baker ordered his men to fire at a Blackfoot camp situated along the Marias River. However, the camp in question, led by Heavy Runner, was innocent (History.com). The novel weaves the historical account of the massacre into the narrative, with the actions of Owl Child leading up to the subsequent attack. Again, Fools Crow’s vision on the yellow skin has seemingly come to fruition, as Fools Crow visits the camp and receives an account from a witness, who describes the gunfire. “There was a man behind each tree. Then all at once came the thunder and fire of the big