Character Analysis
Who doesn't love their grandma? The world's #1 supplier of tasty snacks, comforting talk, and hilarious asides; grandmoms are some of the best people on earth. And Chester's g-ma is no exception. She might even be more awesome than the average granny. After Chester's mom dies when he's a young kid, he goes with his dad, his brothers, and his sister to live on Grandmother's land on the Checkerboard.
Grandmother is depicted in the book as a storyteller. She's the one who tells Chester and the other kids about the "The Long Walk," the forced displacement of the Navajo from their homes to Fort Sumner in New Mexico in 1864. She's the one who also tells stories about the origins of the Diné (the name that the Navajo use for themselves).
In the book, Grandmother can be understood as a link to the past. Through her, Chester has access to his people's history and the stories that his ancestors tell. What's more, Grandmother provides shelter for Chester and his family, and in this way she's also framed as a protective presence in the book.