In her novel "Power," Linda Hogan provides readers with a close look at how separatism and syncretism, or exclusion and inclusion, are complex ideologies that lead to complex decisions. A close look at the novel reveals that the tensions and sharp dichotomies between the traditional world of the Taiga elders and the European American world, closely linked with Omishto's school experiences and her mother's newly found Christianity, exist in order to create dislike, or at least discomfort, in the reader. Many parts of the novel emphasize the fact that the "traditional" world and the "outside" world can find no common ground. The novel, then, is about much more than the importance of tradition and the maintenance and regeneration of culture. "Power" illustrates the fact that connection is necessary to understand the self, and that connection is found only in the complex realities human beings inhabit. Though some would certainly argue that "Hogan restores Omishto to her place within the tribe and assumes the traditional role of speaker as healer," perhaps the greatest message of all in "Power" is that balance can only be achieved through inclusion rather than exclusion.(Contains 26 notes.)