Borders

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Which structure is located between the borders of Canada and the United States?

2. Why does the border guard not accept the narrator’s answer to the citizenship question?

3. Where did Laetitia originally get the idea to move to Salt Lake City?

4. Where do the narrator and his mother sleep while they are “stuck?”

5. Which encouraging words does Mel give both the narrator and his mother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does the narrator say that he and his mother will go to Salt Lake City? What does he imply about his own location?

2. What does the narrator find surprising about the names Coutts and Sweetgrass?

3. Why is Mom’s answer to the border guard’s question particularly problematic?

4. What do the narrator and his mother give Mel? How does he respond?

Paired Resource

“The Blackfeet Nation Has a Long, Epic History”

• The University of Montana’s overview of the Blackfeet nation
• In which ways does the Blackfeet nation’s geographical location problematize the concept of Citizenship and Identity?