From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 12:48:00 -600

In our discussion of names, we've neglected the most obvious one of all and that is the name of the main character. Unlike the other characters, Salamanca tells us directly what the meaning of her name is: that her mother had named her after the tribe from which her family was descended but that she had gotten things mixed up. She had named her "Salamanca" when her name should have been "Seneca" but by the time they realized their error, it was too late to change her name. This shows just how far removed from her Seneca heritage her mother was, that she didn't even know her own tribal affiliation.
  One of the surprising things to me about WTM is how often people refer to it as a book about a Native American girl. I think that because of the title and jacket art, people come to it expecting some sort of "Native quest for identity" type theme. I myself had these expectations initially and thus approached somewhat skeptically. But the story of how Sal came to have her name gave me the first clue that it wasn't going to be that sort of book. Not only was Sal out of touch completely with her Seneca heritage and fully assimilated into western culture, so, too, was her mother.
  What do others think of the assessment of WTM in terms of multicultural literature? Would you put it in a bibilography of books about American Indians?
Received on Fri 14 Jul 1995 01:48:00 PM CDT