Plot & Summary
Where does Lori Arviso Alvord leave to attend college?
The Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
What is Alvord’s main argument about community?
Community grounds and heals people during major life transitions.
What activity does Alvord say “melted historical grief and anger” into something powerful?
Singing with other Native students.
Which strategy does she use to show the difference between Dartmouth and Navajo culture?
Contrast.
What do the four sacred mountains symbolize?
Identity, protection, and home.
What college does she attend?
Dartmouth College.
What does she argue music can do?
Heal emotional wounds and maintain cultural identity.
What does she call the group of Native students she bonds with?
A “new kind of family and tribe.”
What literary device helps readers feel her shock between New Mexico and New Hampshire?
Imagery.
What theme is highlighted through her emotional struggles at Dartmouth?
The search for belonging.
What major emotional challenge does Alvord face upon arriving at Dartmouth?
Intense cultural shock and isolation.
What does Alvord want Native American students to understand?
Leaving home is scary, but it doesn’t mean losing your identity.
What campus events helped recreate the sounds of home?
Powwows and traditional dances.
What recurring element symbolizes home and identity?
The Four Sacred Mountains.
What theme emerges from her reliance on ceremonies and music?
Healing through cultural tradition.
What helps Alvord begin to heal after feeling displaced and invisible?
Forming community with other Native American students and participating in music/ceremonies.
How does she say identity should function during growth?
Identity should guide growth, not disappear.
How does she describe the forests of New Hampshire compared to her desert home?
Unfamiliar, green, and very different from the desert landscape (imagery).
What tone does Alvord use to help readers connect to her experience?
Reflective and vulnerable.
What universal experience does her story represent?
Feeling out of place and learning to adapt without losing oneself.
Why did leaving home feel “dangerous” to her?
Navajo children are raised believing safety exists within the four sacred mountains.
What “two worlds” does Alvord learn to walk between?
The Navajo world and the academic world.
Why is the singing moment considered a turning point?
It marks the beginning of her emotional and spiritual healing.
How does repetition play a role in her essay?
Repeating ideas about “standing out” emphasizes the mountains’ protective power and cultural importance.
What overall message does she leave readers with about growth and identity?
Growth doesn’t require abandoning your roots—your roots can strengthen you.