Spirits remain to influence the living long after their death, increasing the influence of the elders and ancestors. Through different story lines Power shows the reader just how essential ancestry is to each and every person's life. Though a deceased member of the tribe, Red Dress's power influences many of the living tribal members and her impact is immense. She connects the living with the dead through memories, stories, and interaction with spirits through dreams. Dream imagery shines through as another theme of the text, as well as an illustrative tool.
Power writes of Sioux culture using such poetic language that it reads like a dream world.
At the same time, the reader is transported into the reality of the reservation and its situations. Power uses this imagery to foreshadow the future and revisit past issues that are essential to life. These dream images bring the reader closer to the characters and their customs by exposing ideas and circumstances that may not otherwise be talked about. Through this use of dreams and visions, Power demonstrates their importance to Native Americans as sources of guidance and enlightenment. It's the reader's cultural interpretation that perceives it as dream imagery.