Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, pregnancy loss/termination, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, child sexual abuse, mental illness, substance use, addiction, and racism.

Tapeesa, the protagonist and narrator of “Kushtuka,” faces the oppressive gaze of her antagonist, the wealthy and greedy Hank Ferryman. Hank’s possessive desire for Tapeesa mirrors his broader attitude toward Indigenous communities, from which he steals culturally significant objects, calling them “artifacts” instead—an example of how colonialist societies oppress Indigenous ones under the guise of understanding and preserving them (e.g., in museum collections). Tapeesa resists Hank and her rage at his invasive behavior finds expression in the murderous kushtuka that haunts them: “I couldn’t bring myself to fake smile at them. There was something outside the house that was clearly murderous and looked just like me. There was something inside me that was clearly murderous and felt nothing like me” (13). Though Tapeesa resists these violent feelings, she eventually finds herself in the kushtuka’s place, killing Hank’s murderous son, with no warning. Her union with the kushtuka represents the manifestation of her rage against Hank and other men who seek possession of her and her community.