"The Way to Rainy Mountain"

N. Scott Momaday is part of the Kiowa tribe. In his story, he shares how his heritage has impacted him today.

Momaday describes his pilgrimage to Rainy Mountain after the death of his grandmother. Weaving together the history of his people, a description of his ancestral lands, and details about his beloved grandmother, Aho, he creates a moving tribute to the Kiowa, to the Great Plains, and to Aho herself.

Native people often have a deep reverence for their elders. How does Momaday display respect for his grandmother?

Momaday's Grandmother

Momaday describes the landscape he sees today, and important landmarks to his people. What landmarks does he describe?

​Native Traditions

​Momaday describes Native American traditions such as the worship of the Sun Dance Doll and the legend of Devil's Tower. Relating his people to the land they once ruled, he shows how they lived in harmony with nature on the open plains as riders of horses and hunters of bison.

The Kiowa people conducted a sun dance ritual to ask the gods to replenish both their people and the buffalo herds in their area.

​​Kiowa Sun Dance Ritual​

Because people hunted the buffalo nearly to extinction, the Kiowa tribe was unable to complete their Sun Dance ritual in the late 1800s. The U.S. government also discouraged the Kiowa people from participating in the ritual.

​​The End of an era

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​The Legend of Devil's Tower

​Momaday reveals to readers that the Kiowa people created the legend of Devil's Tower to help them cope with their fear of the unknown.