RIDE THE CROOKED WIND

When Po Threefeather's grandmother, who taught him so many of the old Paiute ways, has to go into the hospital, Po becomes the charge of his educated uncle and is sent away to boarding school. Po's young uncle turns out to be almost too good to be true and, despite Po's clash with an Apache schoolmate, there's never really any doubt that he'll eventually reconcile himself to the necessity of attending school. Despite the absence of any real conflict, the background on many Paiute customs and proud Po's laconic conversations with his friends have been skillfully worked in to this nicely modulated character study.