I'm never free from white folks. And neither are you and your brother….
 

This statement to True Son and Gordie spoken by Bejance in Chapter 8 summarizes the way in which Indians and many blacks viewed white culture in the eighteenth century. Throughout the novel we see countless examples of how the Indian way of life is much more natural and free than that of the whites. Indians are not confined by fences or stone houses; they do no have to wear awkward clothing or shoes, and they do not have to destroy the forest in order to settle down. Bejance describes how white culture eventually imprisons you; even the whites themselves are suffocated by their way of life. Once you are under the control of white society, as the slave Bejance and the children clearly are, you become powerless to resist its restrictions. This quote represents an answer to one of the novel's main questions: is the white way of living really more civilized and free than that of the Indians?

Bejance's quote also foreshadows True Son's experience living in Paxton Township. As the slave predicts, True Son loses his old freedoms little by little. He is cut off from his Indian family, he is separated from anyone who can speak Lenni Lenape, and he is forced to wear white clothing. In spite of True Son's attempt to resist change, his Indian customs become weaker as time goes on.