Tom Whitecloud, the author of the short story Blue Winds Dancing, utilizes a fairly common type of structure to portray the journey of a young Indian man. Whitecloud set the events up in chronological order, although the action is stopped quite frequently to allow the thoughts of the main character to be heard. The entire narrative takes place in the time span of just a couple of days. During these few days, the story is split up into three major sections, with a couple of them having their own mini crisis. In addition to these, Whitecloud carries a dominate crisis throughout the story to maximize the reader's understanding of the young Indian's dilemma. The three main segments include the Indian's home at college in California, his train ride through the southwest, and his reservation in Wisconsin.
             During the first section we meet the Indian at college in southern California far from his home on the reservation. The narrative begins with the young Indian expressing his strong desire to journey back home to be with his family and his people. The first mini crisis that Whitecloud introduces us to is when the Indian realizes that he doesn't really belong in the white man's world. He says that, "Then again, maybe I am not tired. Maybe I'm licked. Maybe I am just not smart enough to grasp these things that go to make up civilization" (138). The climax of this first crisis is realized when he decides that he will go home even though "They will say he has gone back to the blanket" (139). Whitecloud stresses the importance between the first and second sections by ending the first with ellipses and putting an actual break in the narrative. This is done to show the end of one part of the Indian's life, and strengthen the impact of his return to the reservation.
             The second section of Whitecloud's story depicts the Indian's travel homeward, and the hardships he endures throug...