Night Flying Woman: The Circle Summary & Analysis

By 1930, Oona’s great-grandson Carl or, Two Standing) is running the farm. When people who are around Oona’s age die, the Ojibway bury them according to Christian rather than Ojibway rituals. Oona feels such a deep sense of loss and sadness that she stops dreaming. She rarely leaves the farm to go into the Ojibway village, which is now called a reservation. She feels like an outsider visiting an alien culture. By the time Oona is 80 years old, she spends her days sitting in her rocking chair, reminiscing about her youth, when there were only Ojibway people on the land.

Oona thinks about her people, and how well they’ve fared in the strangers’ culture, as doctors, teachers, and soldiers. She thinks that today’s Ojibway children don’t care about the past, and she worries about Ojibway history being lost forever. One day, Oona hears the trees rustling, and a little girl named Mary enters, keeping her eyes cast down. Mary wants to hear about the Ojibway. Oona’s heart swells with joy, and she begins talking. She knows now that the Ojibway’s history will not be lost.