What is the importance of forgiveness in "Smoke Signals"? How does Victor Learn to forgive his father?

A parent leaving, can set a child up for limitations in life. Without forgiving his father Victor is unable to accept himself as he is and who he is so he can get on with living his life.
Adults tend not to give information or be forthright with their children when it comes to a parent leaving because they think it is best for the child, they do not want to frighten them, not realizing that talking to a child is soothing and helps them to understand. Children, having creative imaginations think in their little minds that it might be something they did or did not do and so they become afraid. Victor I’m sure could not understand why his dad left when he was a young boy and many things must have gone through his mind. He remembered the good stuff with his dad and then his dad was gone. Why did he leave, when is he coming back? This is where limitations on Victor’s life start, always waiting for his dad to come home and in doing so he does not move forward in his life to all the good things waiting for him he stays in this box of fear that grows more powerful each year he is growing. As the years go by this fear turns to anger and resentment and still holds Victor back from a productive life and creates a vicious cycle for him.
Victor was not able to reconnect with his father in “Smoke Signals”, because he died, so they could not talk about what happened and why he left so for Victor a reconciliation was not possible. The road trip Victor took to get his fathers ashes was part of this healing process for Victor. He learned many things about his father including the guilt his father felt and carried with him about the fire. Still, victor only has memories both good and bad as we see from the movie “Smoke Signals” but he is able to release his father into the falls and maybe this releases victor from his own "box of fear", so he can let the past go and start to build a future for himself.