Rainy Mountain isn't just a place on a map in Oklahoma. It’s an idea. It’s a memory. When N. Scott Momaday published The Way to Rainy Mountain in 1969, he wasn't just writing a memoir or a history book; he was basically inventing a new way to tell a story. He took the Kiowa oral tradition, combined it with historical records, and then layered his own personal memories on top. It’s a weird, beautiful, and sometimes difficult structure. Honestly, if you try to read it like a standard novel, you’re gonna get lost.
The book follows the migration of the Kiowa people from the headwaters of the Yellowstone River down to the southern plains. It’s a journey of transformation. They went from mountain people to lords of the plains. They found the Sun Dance. They found Tai-me. Then, they saw it all fall apart. Momaday writes about this with a kind of reverence that feels heavy. You can feel the wind. You can smell the grass. It’s a sensory experience as much as a literary one.
What People Get Wrong About Momaday’s Journey
A lot of students and casual readers think this is just a book about "Native American myths." That’s a massive oversimplification. Momaday is doing something much more radical. He uses a "three-voice" structure on almost every page.
First, there’s the legendary voice. This is the "once upon a time" stuff—the stories passed down by the Kiowa. Then, right next to it, you get the historical or anthropological voice. This is the cold, hard fact. Finally, you get Momaday’s personal voice. These are his memories of his grandmother, Aho, or the way the light hits the floor in an old house.
It’s about how we construct identity. You aren't just your DNA. You are the stories your grandma told you. You are the history of the land you walk on. You are the specific way you feel when you see a storm rolling in over the Wichita Mountains. Momaday argues that if you lose any of those three layers, you lose yourself.
The Significance of the Kiowa Migration
The Kiowa didn't always belong to the plains. That’s a huge point Momaday drives home. They were originally a mountain tribe. They were "small and poor" in the north. But then they moved. They made a deal with the crows. They acquired the Sun Dance.
- The Golden Age: For about a hundred years, the Kiowa were the masters of the southern plains. They had horses. They had the buffalo. They had a culture that was vibrant and, frankly, pretty terrifying to their enemies.
- The Decline: By the late 1800s, the buffalo were gone. The Sun Dance was forbidden by the U.S. government. The Kiowa were confined.
Momaday's grandmother, Aho, lived through this transition. She saw the end of the world as the Kiowa knew it. When she died, Momaday felt he had to make the journey back to Rainy Mountain to close the circle. It’s a pilgrimage.
Why The Way to Rainy Mountain Matters in 2026
We live in a world that is obsessed with "finding our roots." People spend hundreds of dollars on DNA kits to find out they are 12% something-or-other. Momaday suggests that's not enough. You have to physically go to the places your ancestors lived. You have to imagine their lives.
The Way to Rainy Mountain is a masterclass in "landscape writing." Momaday doesn't just describe the scenery; he makes the landscape a character. The mountain is alive. The insects are alive. The heat is a physical presence. He says, "The loneliest landscape in the world is the one that has been lived in and then deserted." Think about that. That’s heavy. It’s about the ghosts of people and the ghosts of an entire way of life.
The Legend of the Big Dipper
One of the most famous stories in the book is the origin of the Big Dipper. Seven sisters are chased by their brother, who has turned into a bear. They climb a tree, and the tree takes them into the sky. It’s a beautiful, haunting image. Momaday uses this to show how the Kiowa connected their daily lives to the cosmos. They weren't just "living" on the land; they were part of the universe's architecture.
The Bear is a recurring motif. It represents power, but also a kind of wildness that can’t be tamed. Momaday himself carries a Kiowa name that relates to the bear (Tsoai-talee). This isn't just folklore for him; it's a living part of his name. It's his identity.
Dealing With the "Three Voices"
If you're reading this for a class or just for fun, pay attention to the font or the positioning on the page. In many editions, the three voices are visually separated.
- The Myth: Often printed in a distinct typeface. It's the timeless part.
- The Fact: The dry, scholarly part. It grounds the myth in reality.
- The Memory: The most poetic part. This is where Momaday really shines as a writer.
This structure mimics how the human brain actually works. We don't just think in facts. We think in stories and flashes of memory. By blending them, Momaday creates a "total" history. It’s way more accurate than a history book that only looks at dates and treaties.
The Cultural Impact of N. Scott Momaday
Momaday was the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (for House Made of Dawn). But The Way to Rainy Mountain is arguably his most influential work. It paved the way for writers like Leslie Marmon Silko, Louise Erdrich, and Joy Harjo. It proved that Indigenous storytelling wasn't just "interesting anthropology." It was high art.
He challenged the Western idea of linear time. In the Western view, 1870 is before 1890, and that’s that. In Momaday’s world, the 1800s are happening right now because people are still telling the stories. The past isn't behind us; it’s underneath us. It’s the dirt we’re standing on.
Key Takeaways for the Modern Reader
Don't rush through this book. It's short, maybe 100 pages depending on the edition, but it’s dense. It’s like a reduction sauce in cooking—every sentence is packed with flavor.
- Respect the Silence: There’s a lot of empty space in the prose. Momaday leaves room for the reader to breathe and think.
- Look at the Illustrations: The original edition features drawings by Momaday’s father, Al Momaday. They aren't just decorations; they are part of the narrative.
- Think About Your Own "Rainy Mountain": Where did your people come from? Not just the country, but the specific hill or street? What stories do you have that nobody else knows?
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to truly understand The Way to Rainy Mountain, don't just read it. Engage with it.
Start by looking up the geography. Find the Devil’s Tower (Tsoai) in Wyoming and the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma on a map. See the distance. Imagine walking that with everything you own.
Next, try to write a "three-voice" entry about your own family. Pick a story your parents told you. Look up the historical context of that time (what was happening in the world?). Then, write down a sensory memory you have associated with that story—a smell, a sound, a specific light. You’ll find that your own history becomes much more vivid.
Finally, check out Momaday’s later work, like The Names. It continues this exploration of identity and place. Understanding the Kiowa experience is a gateway to understanding the American experience in a much more honest way. It’s not a comfortable history, but it’s a necessary one.
Go outside. Find a landmark. Sit with it. That’s what Momaday would want you to do. The land remembers even when we forget.