Gerald Vizenor, in his book Earthdivers, uses the term “mixed descent” as a symbolic category, moving beyond heredity to describe a strategy of discourse that promotes transformation. Bringing mixed descent to discourse undermines the modes of speech and thought that Vizenor calls “terminal creeds,” that is, fixed, dogmatic beliefs or modes of expression that do not allow for ambiguity or change. The mixed-blood heroes of Vizenor's stories explode terminal creeds by their constantly shifting positions and discourses. Through figures that challenge boundaries, overturn expectations, and commit social offenses, and through narratives that break down genres and commit literary offenses, Vizenor opens a way for transformation. His concept allows for the expansion of mixed descent from a social and biological fact to a literary and cultural construct, thereby challenging readers to see mixed blood as a basis for a new literature rather than as a reason for questioning the “authenticity” of writings by Native Americans.

Vizenor's symbolic mixed descent is useful in understanding Mourning Dove, her novel, Cogewea, the Half-blood: A Depiction of the Great Montana Cattle Range, and her relationship to Lucullus Mc; Whorter, the white amateur historian who collaborated with her to produce that text. An expanded conceptualization of mixed descent helps one appreciate the complexity of a novel that at first glance appears to be a simple Western romance. Moreover, following Vizenor and using mixed descent as a metaphor enriches interpretation of Cogewea by creating a central place for the collaboration between Mourning Dove and McWhorter within the analysis.