The body` of criticism concerning N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn demonstrates a lack of material dealing with the ramifications of the Priest of the Sun's sermon which examines the "Word" of St. John. This thesis explores what is meant by St. John's Word, and how this Word relates to Momaday's novel as a whole. Momaday, through Tosamah, the Priest of the Sun, claims modern society is being overloaded with meaningless words. The Word, in its pure form, is connected to the Native American oral tradition and Momaday's belief that words are powerful when they are used in a traditional manner. The context of language is shown to be an important element in this novel, as the topic of Native American assimilation into white culture is discussed. / Department of English