Character Analysis: The Medicine Bag

In “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Martin’s relationship with his grandfather changes from embarrassing to loving. In the beginning Martin was self-conscious about telling his friends the truth about his grandfather. His grandfather was Native American, but not your average Native American Indian from TV. Martin describes him as “He didn’t wear his hair in braids but hung in stringy, gray strands on his neck and he was old. He was our great grandfather, and he didn’t live in a tipi, but all by himself in a part log, part tarpaper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota” (Sneve 59). So, as expected when Grandpa comes for a visit unannounced, Martin is scared that his friends will see his true grandfather and not the