HIGHER THAN THE ARROW

Self-conscious Francie, Reservation Indian and best artist in the class, is a little put out when blond, white Lucy arrives with rival talent. At first they are friendly but after their teacher inadvertently hurts Francie's pride by suggesting that Lucy's know-how would improve her project (a statue of St. Francis holding a coyote), Francie purposely misleads Lucy during a snowstorm. She confesses to the priest, apologizes to a shocked Lucy (who asks ""Is that the way Indians really are?""), but their rift is not healed until they are both caught up with a sick coyote. Francie is a sentimental sort, with wistful feelings about nature, uncertain ideas about Indians, and an understandable compulsion to make her statue perfect. But it's not brisk and the moralistic implications are maximized.