A Note on "The Closing In" Disillusionment and the Fall of the Kiowa

The last part of N. Scott Momaday’s “The Way to Rainy Mountain” is full of
images of loss and death. Death for the Kiowa’s did not come only physically
but culturally as well. As the opening story to “The Closing In,” Momaday
illustrates a danger for the two brothers who are captured by the chief if
the Utes. At first, one might think the end for the brothers was
inescapable. . The men were being tested both by the qualities they
exemplified as well as physically when asked to walk across the greased
heads of the buffalo. However, the signs of loyalty and humility, as well as
their physical endurance saved the brothers’ lives. I feel that Momaday
tries to foreshadow the Kiowa’s decline as a people through this story. This
is the first instance where there is a risk and an attempt against them.
In the next chapter, XX, a sudden death is documented. This time a horse
dies after it is turned away by the hunter. The horse was so accustomed to
striking that when the hunter pulled him away, the shame was so great that
living was not an option anymore. Again, I see this as a reflection of the
Kiowa people. Perhaps the Kiowa’s decline was in part due to their own
disillusionment and shame that in turn caused their fall.

Momaday is not completely disillusioned as he provides moments of hope.
He remarks on the power nature has as a medicine and for healing people.
These instances are few, but they help to sustain the culture of the people.
Momaday also mentions the sun-dances. In the last part, he comments on
the decline of knowledge. As more people died, the loss of tradition also
expediated and forms of knowledge quickly vanished. But, through
ceremonies like the sun-dances and oral tradition the history of the
Kiowas lives on. Every great civilization meets its fall at some point
but its preservation remains as long as stories continue to be told.