Ceremony

At Ts’eh’s house, Tayo discovers that Ts’eh knew his cattle were coming and has trapped them so they couldn’t escape again. Tayo mistakenly believes the hunter is her husband and is worried the hunter might learn of her sexual encounter with Tayo. Tayo and Ts’eh visit the cattle, and he discovers they’ve been maimed from abusive ranching practices. He entrusts Ts’eh with the cattle and leaves to get help packing up the cattle. Tayo returns with Robert to find Ts’eh’s home abandoned but the cattle well cared for. In Ts’eh’s bedroom, Tayo finds a shield on the wall that was not there before. The constellations from Tayo’s ceremony are painted on the shield.

Tayo returns home with his cattle, and his mental health is dramatically improved from his journey. Auntie Thelma is highly suspicious. She suspects Tayo will regress into his trauma and self-destructive behavior. Tayo does not see Ts’eh again for a long while. He grows lonely and misses her. Rescuing the cattle has ended the drought, and conditions on the reservation improve. Tayo eventually meets Ts’eh again, and the two begin living together on her ranch while Tayo tends to his cattle there.