What Can Be Seen

In the Taiga tribe, Omishto is simply a girl who sees things that no one thinks about. But to the American Government she is a witness.

Omishto was named "the one who watches" for a reason. She grew up seeing the real truth about Ama and her mother and her necessary decision between the tribe and her mother, but now she is faced with another sight.

Omishto said many times that she only wanted to tell the truth, whether it be to the American government or to her tribe's council, she swore she would only tell the truth about what she saw. Being a witness inserts many hard decisions on top of her already confusing lifestyle. She must now use what she saw and what she was born to see to convict the one person that she thought was invincible. She uses her sight in a way that is unnerving to her and therefor is uncomfortable with herself and feels guilt beyond recognition. With her mother still pushing her to abandon the Tribe and their way of life, she herself feels abandoned because of what she has had to do to the one person she trusted most of all. Her sight, what was once her gift, is now what she hates the most.

Omishto may have been destined to see what she saw so that she could become a stronger person. She uses her unique situational sight to uncover the truth behind many scenes that pay out before her. One day she will look back on this instance and see that she has done the right thing and that the guilt is on the wrong shoulders. She will see the reflection of her actions in everything she says and does for the rest of her life and that will make her a more conscious, selfless, and brilliant person. She is able to see the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, guilty and innocent, and she feels the impact of that sight everyday.

Omishto is used as a witness to both the Taiga tribe and the American Government in different ways. She is a witness to the Taiga people because she was there with Ama. She saw what really happened and the driving forces/spirits that led to the actions. She can defend Ama in a way that no one else can while still giving evidence against her. For the American Government, Omishto is simply a witness because she can provide the fact that Ama was there, the fact that Ama killed the panther, and the fact that there was no provocation from the endangered animal.

Omishto has the gift of a very honest, very real sight and unlike before when it would have helped her choose between her mother and Ama, it is now killing her because she will not lie about her sight. Omishto watches everything, but now she has actually seen; and what she saw could hurt her more than she imagined.