The title Legend Days is Highwater's synonym for Native American culture and beliefs. At the beginning of this novel, the "legend days" and the traditions that they represent are held in sacred trust by the Native Americans. Amana and her people believe in the omens, stories, animals, visions, songs, and signs of nature. All of these are important to the traditional cycle of life on the plains.

Then the white man comes and brings death in the form of smallpox and tuberculosis. He kills the buffalo and this brings death in the form of starvation. In his religion, the white man sees something that is better than the myths held by the native peoples and he replaces the traditional beliefs with his own. Finally, in his "welfare" system on the reservation, the white man believes that he is taking care of the native peoples in a way that is good for them and, more important, good for himself.

Unfortunately, the things that the white man brings are seen a different way by Amana and her people. The land and the animals are devastated; there is sickness, starvation, and sorrow. With the loss of the buffalo and the death of many people by disease, there is a disintegration of the traditional culture. As the story unfolds, the "legend days" and the Native American way of life begin to die.

In addition to the cultural conflict, there is also a male-female role conflict in the novel. After escaping from the death that comes to her village and being rescued from the white owl by the old fox, Amana is given a special gift which is to be used only when she hears the song of the fox. In her secret medicine bundle, she has the clothes which will give her the strength and courage of a great warrior and hunter. Yet the traditional society that she honors places only men in that role. When she returns to her people and finds that only crippled Crow Woman and blind Weasel Woman are left, she must use her woman's nurturing skills, not the male hunting skills, to save them. However, when starvation seems eminent, she hears the song of the fox, becomes a warrior, takes a rifle, and kills a deer. Having saved herself and her two friends, Amana again hides her sacred bundle but she does not forget the power that she felt as a warrior.

As the story progresses, it is plain that Amana is both a woman and a warrior and that she loves the role of the hunter more than the nurturer. Yet, even though she is able to save the tribe during a period of starvation, her people do not accept her in what they see as a male role. Amana tries to cling to the old ways, the "legend days," while at the same time, she tries to change the traditional role of a woman in the tribe. Soon she is acting like a warrior even when she does not hear the song of the fox. Then, in pride, she forces her husband Far Away Son to go with the tribe on a buffalo hunt so that she too may go. When Far Away Son is killed by a charging buffalo, Amana is abandoned by her people and is truly alone in the world. She is afraid that she has failed her people and that the "legend days" are gone forever.