2  The incompatible law system: federal, state and Indian law
2.1  The complex law system and the influence on the case
    In this book, Erdrich explores the complications that arise when tribal laws compete with federal laws in the search for justice. Joe is a cute and endearing young boy; his mother, Geraldine, is responsible for the identification of ethnic identity in their tribe; the father Bazil Coutts is a judge on the reservation. And these three lead a happy life until Geraldine suffers a sudden unexpected violation and thus fall into great fear and anxiety. She spending most of the day staying in the bedroom silently, unwilling to reveal the details of the crime and reluctant to cooperate with the investigation. The whole family become oppressive. To help mothers to return to the original state and bring the perpetrator to justice, Joe and his father took different roads. Bazil endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts while Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. 路易斯•厄德里克的《圆屋》的伦理符号解读(3):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_21984.html