The kind of anger that permeated the Native American residents of Alliance in 1969 was the heavy, silent kind that manifests as downward glances, deformity and scars. While music can easily emulate enthusiasm, hope, pride, sadness, love and happiness, it has difficulty with anger, especially when the music must be subdued enough to support -- rather than dominate -- the narration. Only in repeated response to melodic phrases do drums provoke the kind of emotions appropriate to this story: attention, anger, disgust and despair.

The score calls for at least two bass drums, tuned slightly apart, or one bass drum and one tympani tuned to a lower pitch. The drums used in this movement provide single, powerful blows, spaced apart without rhythm. In performance, the attack of the drums should not be too precise. Anger does not slip out through a narrow opening; it explodes with ragged edges. As the movement progresses, it is possible to give a different edge to these single beats by using different mallets.

The Native Americans had reed flutes, and the solo flute in this movement is written in the range of these simple instruments. The grace notes that become the signature of the flute's melody are akin to the slight inflection at the beginning of the notes played on reed flutes, caused by the imprecise closing of the fingers over the holes. The modern flute has precisely-suspended keys closed by springs that make the notes sharp and clear, but the reed flute, relying only on finger pressure, does not start -- or end -- its notes so cleanly. The slight bending of the pitch at the beginning and ending of a phrase would be appropriate. Once again, too much precision in this instrument's part is to be avoided.