In Linda Hogan’s 1998 novel Power, much is learned about Native American civilization. The main characters, Omishto and Ama, help uncover this civilization. The novel is divided into nine chapters.
In Chapter 1, Omishto, a girl, is in a boat that is drifting on a pool. She notices that a storm is coming. She describes the pool and the country around it. A snake attempts to come into the boat, but she pushes it out with a pole and moves the boat to land. As she does this, she feels something watching her but does not desire to look in that direction. A woman named Ama has told the girl that she is in the district of the cat.
The girl says that she has never seen the cat, but Ama saved one when some boys had it treed, and she took away the boys’ rifle. The girl’s father named her Omishto, which means “one who watches.” Omishto’s grandmother says that Omishto has a wind inside her called Oni. Omishto is careful on her way home because she can still feel something watching her.
Chapter 2, “Stormlight,” opens with a story about a man named Abraham Swallow. People believe that he died from fright or magic in some trees near a canal. As Omishto walks toward Ama Eaton’s house, she recalls this story. Near Ama’s house, there is a tree called Methuselah that is 500 years old and was planted by the Spanish. Methuselah is the only tree of its kind in the area. The tree and Ama’s house sit on the edge of the Taiga land.
Taiga is the name of the Indian tribe to which Ama and Omishto belong. Ama’s house is old and looks like it is disintegrating. As Omishto reaches Ama’s house, Ama tells her to come into the house. Omishto tries to sneak up on Ama, but Ama always hears her. Ama and Omishto then sit on the porch together and discuss Abraham Swallow’s death. Omishto tells Ama that she does not believe magic killed Abraham. Abraham’s wife thought that the old Taiga people had killed him with magic.
In Chapter 2, the reader also learns that the cat is the Florida Panther. The Taiga people call it Sisa. People of the Panther Clan believe they are related to the Florida Panther. Ama loves the jaguar and watches out for it. Omishto’s mother is jealous of Ama because Ama is close to the old Taiga ways. Omishto was told not to see Ama, but she still does.
As the women continue to sit on the porch, Ama asks Omishto if she dreamt the night before. Ama says that she did and goes inside the house. She returns and tells Omishto that she dreamt about a sickly, scraggy jaguar. As Omishto and Ama sit on the porch, four women from the tribe walk down the road, almost as if they are drifting. Ama refers to them as couriers. The two women then go indoors. As they do, a storm starts. It is a hurricane.
They try to board up the house. Rattlesnakes start to come toward Ama’s door, but Ama shuts the door on them. Omishto realizes that she has not tied up her boat. She runs to do so but struggles to get the boat ashore as she slips in the clay. Omishto can see Ama blown against the exterior of the house. She besides sees Methuselah autumn.
