Character Relationship Map: Beans

Characters

• Beans / Tekahentahkhwa (played by Kiawentiio) — protagonist

  Bright preteen protagonist navigating cultural identity and family tensions during the Oka Crisis. She befriends April, learns to toughen up, experiences her first kiss, confronts sexual harassment, a...

• Lily (played by Rainbow Dickerson) — protagonist

  Beans' mother who encourages her to attend a prestigious Montreal school. She joins the family protest against the golf course expansion, faces police raids, is evacuated to a hotel, and gives birth d...

• Ruby (played by Violah Beauvais) — supporting

  Beans' younger sister who is caught in the police raid at the protest. She is evacuated with Beans and Lily to a hotel, sneaks back through barricades with the family, and witnesses her mother's labor...

• April (played by Paulina Alexis) — supporting

  An older girl who becomes Beans' mentor and friend, teaching her to adopt a tougher persona through smoking, swearing, and dating boys. She later reveals she may be suffering sexual abuse from her fat...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Ruby → Lily (Family Daughter) — Ruby is Lily's younger daughter and stays with her during the upheaval.

  Ruby is evacuated to the hotel with Lily and Beans and witnesses Lily's labor when the family returns home.

• Beans / Tekahentahkhwa → Ruby (Family Older Sister) — Beans is Ruby's older sister and remains connected to her throughout the crisis.

  Beans and her younger sister Ruby are caught in the police raid and later return home together with Lily.

• Beans / Tekahentahkhwa → Lily (Family Daughter) — Beans and Lily share a close mother-daughter relationship shaped by education, family, and cultural identity.

  Lily is identified as Beans' mother and encourages her to apply to a prestigious school in Montreal.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Beans / Tekahentahkhwa → April (Social Friend) — Their friendship strongly influences Beans' behavior and emotional development.

  Beans befriends April and attends the hotel party and campfire with her.

Story Analysis

A Mohawk girl's coming-of-age unfolds through family loyalty, political upheaval, friendship, danger, and the affirmation of cultural identity.

Plot Progression

1. A Name and a Homeland — Beans lives in Kahnawake while Lily encourages her to apply to a prestigious Montreal school. The family is drawn toward the growing protest after seeing the struggle against golf-course expansion.
2. Barricades Around Kahnesatake — The family travels to support the protest, but a police raid catches Beans and Ruby in danger. Isolation, food shortages, and hostile evacuation conditions make the crisis increasingly frightening.
3. April's Dangerous Lessons — Beans befriends April and imitates her rebellious behavior. Meanwhile, the army replaces local police and the family is relocated to a hotel with other Mohawk women and children.
4. The Hotel and the Return — A hotel party brings alcohol, Beans' first kiss, and a fight that gets her family removed. They sneak back through the barricade as Lily approaches childbirth.
5. Protection and Self-Recognition — Beans rejects sexual pressure, learns that April may be suffering abuse, and helps her escape to her grandmother. Lily gives birth safely, the burial ground is protected, and Beans begins school using...