Abusive Parents: Seth's father Omaha berates his son for letting an Indian boy get the better of him, saying he's ashamed of him and breaking his son's spirit. This dressing down leads to Seth and his colleagues' beatdown of Spotted Eagle.
Heel–Face Turn: Realizing how his prejudices are alienating his daughter and grandson after the latter's severe beating by his classmates (see below), Jeremy goes to the schoolhouse during the final scene to publicly apologize for treating Spotted Eagle as an outcast, informing everyone the boy is his grandson and that he's here to stay.
Ironic Name: Omaha Johnson, Seth's father has a name of Indian origin and yet not onlt dismisses Spotted Eagle as an "Injun Kid" but shames his son for letting an Indian get the better of him.
Missing Mom: Amelia Stokes comes to live with her father, but her mother is never mentioned, implying she's deceased. Whether she died before before or during the period she lived with the Indians is unclear.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Furious at Spotted Eagle for publicly humiliating him, Seth and his friends get revenge by brutally beating him, further warning the former not to show his face in town again. Spotted Eagle's subsequent injuries are so severe that it gradually inspires his bigoted grandfather Jeremy to have a change of heart.
Racist Grandpa: A literal example with Spotted Eagle's grandfather Jeremy, who absolutely despises Indians and their culture, berates his daughter upon finding she lived with one of them by her own accord and tries to raise his grandson in the white, "civilized" way.
Sexual Euphemism: After arriving at home, Jeremy asks his daughter if the Indians (whom he assumed had kidnapped her when she disappeared) had "treated her decently", implying he meant whether she'd been spared being used for sex by them. It turns out she married one of them in free will, which by her father's reaction seems to be even worse.
Title Drop: Occurs twice when Spotted Eagle's grandfather Jeremy returns the horse his grandson took from Omaha Johnson's son, Seth (as after successfully taming it, under Indian law, Spotted Eagle thought the horse was his to claim). After Jeremy apologizes, Omaha points out that Jeremy's grandson is "nothing but an injun kid" and "don't know no better"; following Jeremy's departure, Omaha's cordial veneer fades as he berates Seth, asking his son how he could "let an injun kid get the best of you".
What Happened to the Mouse?: Although Jeremy announces at the end that his grandson will be staying in Walnut Grove, neither of them (nor his daughter) are ever seen again.
You Are Not My Father: More like "Your are not my grandpa", what Spotted Eagle says when his grandfather tries to help tend for his injuries after finally seeing what the prejudices he'd been showing caused when demonstrated by other people, and his grandson rejects him, alienated by his treatment of him.
