The event that was a turning point in the text Montana 1948 by Larry Watson, was when Wesley Hayden made an important decision to lock his brother, Frank, in his house's root cellar. Montana 1948 is about the events that occurred in Bentrock, Montana, during the summer of 1948. The novel is written in first person point of view of David Hayden, who is a 12-year old boy. This allows the audience to observe the turn of events in the novel from his perspective, including the event of his uncle's prosecution. This event is a turning point in the novel as it has profoundly affected David's family dynamic and his understanding of justice. In the text, Wesley Hayden had to make an immensely important decision to arrest Frank and lock him up, due to his role as the sheriff of Mercer County. Although he is a very respectable man within the Bentrock community as he is not only charming but is also a war hero and a doctor, Frank has committed a multiple number of crimes. He has taken advantage of Indian women using his profession, as an excuse for his inappropriate requests and actions. "Wesley, your brother is raping these women. These girls. These Indian girls  says David's mother, Gail to Wesley. This is very shocking to both the audience and David because we did not expect Frank, who seems like a perfect gentlemen from how David describes him, to do something so horrendous. Later in the novel, Frank kills the Hayden family's Sioux housekeeper, Mari, for speaking out to his family about his crimes. Therefore as the sheriff, Wesley is obliged to arrest Frank, and locks him up in his house's root cellar, as he is not yet ready to take his brother to the court. This is because he is still unsure whether locking up his brother would be the best decision. When Wesley's father, Julian finds out about Frank's arrest, he is furious and doesn't understand what's wrong with sexually assaulting a ˜couple of Indians', which highlights the high level of racism that was