Sammy Tigertail, while reading Macauley by firelight, found it difficult to imagine the noble and tightly guarded culture described in the book. He questioned how the old traditions would stand up to modern influences, especially with tribes now welcoming outsiders into their gambling halls, tourist attractions, and convenience stores.

"Now, re-reading Macauley by firelight, Sammy Tigertail struggled to envision the noble and fiercely insulated culture so admiringly documented in those pages. He wondered what the journalist-preacher would say about the twenty-first century clans that eagerly beckoned outsiders to tribal gambling halls, tourist traps and drive-through cigarette kiosks. For not the first time the young man contemplated the crushing likelihood that the warrior he aspired to become had no place to go."