When 1923 premiered, audiences were introduced to Teonna Rainwater, a young Native American woman forced into the brutality of a government-run boarding school. Her storyline, arguably one of the most powerful arcs in the prequel, highlighted the devastating realities faced by Indigenous children torn from their families, stripped of their culture, and subjected to unthinkable abuse. Teonna’s journey was not just a singular tale of survival but also a generational story that rippled into the present-day Yellowstone timeline, embodied in Monica Dutton and her son Tate. By unveiling the connection between Teonna and Monica, the franchise underscores its deepest theme: survival of identity and culture against forces that seek to erase them.

Teonna Rainwater’s arc in 1923 was filled with violence, resilience, and resistance. She endured systemic cruelty at the hands of nuns and priests determined to destroy her spirit. Every scene illustrated how colonial assimilation policies sought to erase Native traditions and languages. Yet Teonna fought back, rebelling against the institution and refusing to let her identity be erased. Her defiance came at a cost—she endured punishment, isolation, and relentless pursuit after escaping. But that resistance planted the seeds of survival for her descendants. Teonna’s story was not only about her but about the generations who would carry her strength forward, despite the scars of trauma.

In Yellowstone, Monica embodies the legacy of that survival. As a Native American woman married into the Dutton family, Monica constantly navigates the tension between two worlds. Her marriage to Kayce places her within the complicated orbit of the Dutton legacy, but her heart remains tied to her people, her culture, and the land. Monica’s struggles—balancing her identity, raising her son Tate, and resisting the erasure of her heritage—directly echo the battles Teonna fought nearly a century earlier. Where Teonna fought literal captors who tried to strip her name and language, Monica fights more insidious battles of assimilation, prejudice, and cultural marginalization in modern society.

The connection between the two women becomes clear when considering Tate, the bridge between the Duttons and the Rainwater line. Tate represents not just a blending of families but also the embodiment of survival through generations. Teonna endured suffering so that her people might continue, and Monica ensures that Tate never loses sight of that heritage. Scenes of Monica teaching Tate about his roots—encouraging him to stay proud of who he is—mirror the fierce determination Teonna showed in clinging to her identity against brutal odds. Through Monica and Tate, the Rainwater legacy endures, transformed but unbroken.

Thematically, Sheridan uses Teonna and Monica to explore the long shadow of historical trauma. The violence Teonna endured in 1923 did not end with her. It reverberated through the decades, shaping the lives of her descendants. Monica’s struggles with belonging, her grief over cultural loss, and her moments of alienation within the Dutton family all trace back to that original wound. Yet both women also embody resilience. Teonna resisted assimilation by escaping and fighting back. Monica resists by preserving her culture in her family, even when surrounded by forces that threaten to dilute it.

The connection is not only symbolic but also direct within the Yellowstone universe. Thomas Rainwater, the modern Broken Rock Reservation leader and ally of the Duttons, is widely theorized to be a descendant of Teonna. This makes Monica’s ties to him through her own lineage even stronger. Both characters carry the scars of historical oppression, and both dedicate themselves to protecting their communities. The narrative deliberately intertwines their stories to emphasize that what Teonna endured in 1923 is not just history—it is lived memory, shaping how Monica, Thomas, and even Tate confront the present.

Visually and narratively, the shows echo each other to reinforce the connection. Teonna’s scenes of escape through rugged wilderness parallel Monica’s scenes of grief and isolation on the reservation after her personal tragedies. Teonna’s fight to hold onto her name parallels Monica’s insistence on Tate learning his culture despite being a Dutton. Even the use of silence in both women’s arcs—quiet moments of reflection, prayer, or anguish—shows how strength often takes the form of endurance rather than outward defiance. Sheridan’s storytelling makes clear that the pain of the past is inseparable from the present, but so too is the strength inherited from ancestors.

What makes the connection between Teonna and Monica especially powerful is that it broadens the scope of Yellowstone. The series has often been read as a story of white landowners struggling against change, but through Monica and Teonna, it becomes equally about Native endurance and sovereignty. The land, so central to the Dutton legacy, is not just theirs to fight over; it belongs to the people who were forced off it, yet who remain tied to it in body and spirit. By linking Teonna and Monica, Sheridan insists that the story of Montana is incomplete without acknowledging the survival of Indigenous people.

Looking ahead, this connection will likely shape future installments of the franchise. With Y: Marshals focusing on Kayce and Tate, Monica’s role as cultural anchor becomes even more important. Tate, carrying the dual legacy of Dutton and Rainwater blood, will be the ultimate expression of survival, resilience, and reconciliation. Teonna’s sacrifices in 1923, Monica’s struggles in Yellowstone, and Tate’s future will form a narrative arc spanning centuries, demonstrating that survival is not just about enduring but about living with pride and purpose.

Ultimately, Teonna Rainwater and Monica Dutton are bound by more than blood or lineage; they are bound by a shared story of survival against erasure. Teonna resisted with fists, fire, and escape. Monica resists with love, teaching, and quiet resilience. Both carry the same unyielding spirit, showing that though trauma may pass through generations, so too does strength. Their connection unveils one of the franchise’s deepest truths: the story of Yellowstone is not just about the Duttons but also about those whose endurance makes the land and its legacy truly timeless.