ENG357 Essay Sana
ENG357 Essay Sana
Mohsin
Sana Mohsin
ENG357
Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves is about survival, the changing landscape, and
colonial legacies, but at the heart of it is a book about human relationships. Between family
members, members of a small pack, and the wider Indigenous community consisting of both the
younger generation and ancestors. One way to maintain these relationships as shown in the novel
is through the oral storytelling tradition of Indigenous culture. In The Marrow Thieves,
storytelling functions as a way to preserve Indigenous culture in a world where they are
constantly being hunted, as a way to make sure that Indigenous teachings live on through the
memory of the younger generation. Thus, this essay will highlight the importance of oral
storytelling as a mechanism for maintaining bonds not only between members of the pack, but
also between the younger generation and their ancestors. Further, this essay will also look at how
the book showcases found families, i.e. families built on personal connections rather than just
blood relations.
Drawing upon Dimaline’s own Metis heritage, oral storytelling holds vital importance in
the culture, much like the other Indigenous cultures, in terms of passing along history, myths,
and family relations. Indigenous teachings are relayed through story, through the oral tradition as
scholars Renée Hulan and Renate Eigenbrod relay that it is “the means by which knowledge is
The very act of gathering the tribe members, sitting down and making sure that the listeners
understand is a way of passing down information. In this way, communal teachings are preserved
through the act of remembering, as suppose if one passes down a story to their son, that son will
relate the story to his children, and so on as Hulan and Eigenbrod write “Oral traditions form the
foundation of Aboriginal societies, connecting speaker and listener in communal experience and
uniting past and present in memory” (Indigenousfoundations). Culture is thus preserved through
In The Marrow Thieves, Story is a highlight in the characters’ constantly changing life,
narrated by Miigwans to the teenagers of his group. Cast-off from their families and
communities because of the Recruiters, they are impressionable and eager to learn of their
powerful history because of the bleakness of their present. As Frenchie narrates, “But every
week we spoke, because it was imperative that we know. He said it was the only way to make
the kinds of changes that were necessary to really survive” (Dimaline, 25). By hearing and
learning about the past, Frenchie and his friends can make sure that their future is not the same,
and they can preserve their culture and make sure their people survive. This is why it is
imperative that they all engage in Story, know where their people came from, what they
achieved, and the odds stacked against them because it is only through the younger generation
striving for a better tomorrow that they can change their current situation.
For these runaways, it is important to hold onto the past because it is concrete, in contrast
to their inconstant present. Miig told them of their warrior ancestors, instilling in them a pride for
their heritage, but also making sure that they then know how to live on as, “Over the generations,
the Oral Tradition has been vitally important in ensuring the survival of families. For instance,
narratives in the Oral Tradition taught where food was located, how to harvest it, and how to
3
Mohsin
prepare and eat it” (Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada). Through Story the teenagers of their
group can learn of their shared history, how rich and vibrant their cultures had once been, which
in turn strengthens the bonds that they build with each other. Through Story, they can hunt and
forage alongside each other. Further, the fact that Story informs them of their ancestors is also
important in The Marrow Thieves because they made sure that their descendants still had the
ability to dream, “We go to the schools and they leach the dreams from where our ancestors hid
them, in the honey combs of slushy marrow buried in our bones. And us? Well, we join our
ancestors, hoping we left enough dreams behind for the next generation to stumble across”
(Dimaline, 90). The ancestors made sure that their descendants still possessed this gift, so it is up
That said, the group members also realize that their ancestry is not all that they can rely
on: “I came from a long line of hunters, trappers, and voyageurs. But now, with most of the
rivers cut into pieces and lakes left as grey sludge puckers on the landscape, my own history
seemed like a myth along the lines of dragons” (Dimaline, 21). The multiple Indigenous family
structures have degraded to the extent that Frenchie believes his own history, his own ancestors
This quote also brings another interesting nuance into Indigenous identity and family
structures, namely the extent to which their practices are tied to the physical landscape. The
Stories themselves act as guidelines for how the people should treat the land, as they “teach
important lessons about a given society’s culture, the land, and the ways in which members are
expected to interact with each other and their environment. The passing on of these stories from
generation to generation keeps the social order intact” (Indigenousfoundations). The landscape
4
Mohsin
acts as the manifestation of the people’s lived experiences, i.e. a place for them to see and test
On encountering these landmarks, individuals may recall the stories and their embedded
lessons and may gain insight into them over time. Oral traditions create a space for
interacting with the environment, and for many First Nations people, the landscape that
holds these stories becomes an aid to learning their histories and a guide in decision
Indigenous identity relies largely on their relationship with the physical land, and if it becomes
barren then Indigenous identity itself, conveyed and formed through storytelling, is threatened.
The format of the book further accommodates the oral storytelling tradition. It is
interesting to note that whenever their oral storytelling practice is mentioned in the novel, it is
referred to as “Story,” that is with a capital S. Whenever Story is mentioned it stands out in the
text, making a point and drawing the readers’ attention to the word and further the act itself. This
shows the importance that this event holds for Frenchie, the narrator, as well as his group mates,
so much so that it deserves capitalization. Further, whenever it is time for Story a new chapter
begins; each story gets its own chapter, showing the significance that the stories possess as
separate entities.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the oral story-telling tradition is the bonds that form
and strengthen between the participants. This type of belief is guided by the Cree principle of
speaks to the interconnectedness of all things, and our responsibilities to those we share the
world with and the future” (The Tyee), that is it frames the relationships between people as well
as a person’s relationship with the land as an active verb (Aguila-Way). Kinship is not something
5
Mohsin
passive or something that one already has, but rather it can be built and strengthened. Similar to
kinship, blood memory, or the skills and information passed on because of genetics, also
involves active participation rather than passive acceptance. As Frenchie remarks near the
beginning of the book before he is taken on by the group, “Mom had said her uncles and grandpa
were great hunters, that it was a family trait. Maybe it would just come to me, like a blood
memory or something” (Dimaline, 10). Although hunting is in his ancestry, it is not until he is
found by Miigwans and his crew that he fully comes to his potential, under the guidance and
Beyond blood relations, Dimaline also highlights found families, or people one chooses
based on some personal connections, which are made stronger by ceremonies like Story. In The
Marrow Thieves, this connection is the group’s shared heritage as they are hunted by the
recruiters, also sharing the same need to survive. Frenchie is found by the group just when he has
lost his brother, basically hitting rock bottom. They take him in and effectively make him the
young man he is in the present day of the book; brave, knowledgeable, and skilled in survival
tactics. Although he has lost his family, Frenchie comes to accept this group of misfits as his
own family, and this feeling is reciprocated as when they come across the strangers from Wab’s
past, Miig introduces the youngsters as his sons and daughters (121).
The notion of found families culminates when Frenchie reunites with his father is
Espanola:
“You staying out here?” Tree seemed surprised, but also a bit relieved.
“Yeah,” Zheegwon answered. “It’s just that you have a real family now.”
“Real? What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not real?” (Dimaline, 177).
6
Mohsin
For these cast-offs who have lost their family members, who may just believe that they have
missed out on something by not having a blood-related family, finding a family member is more
than a dream come true. The twins draw upon this notion, questioning why Frenchie would come
to sleep with the group’s tents rather than with his ‘real’ father. Frenchie counters this; how
could their family not be any less real with the things that they have gone through? The close-
calls, the betrayals, the deaths of some of their very own? Their experiences mean that they are
as much of a family as any blood related one, which ties into the idea of kinship being an
Moving past the tradition, Western notions of families and society, Dimaline is able to
present an alternative, Indigenous perspective. The Marrow Thieves puts forward the message of
community, and the resilience of the Indigenous people to stand against oppressive, colonizing
forces. The group is stronger together, each member performing their individual tasks as hunters
and homesteaders; surely Frenchie could not have survived alone, with nothing to guide him, if
Miig had not come along and taken him in. This particular group of misfits is a community
within itself, as Frenchie muses after they lose Minerva and RiRi, “Everything was different. We
were faster without our youngest and oldest, but now we were without deep roots, without the
acute need to protect and make better (Dimaline, 154). Each person has a place that is essential
to fill, which is how a family and further a community is supposed to run. Upon reaching
Espanola, the group gets the opportunity to share in their cultural festivities, their ceremonies
with other members of the Indigenous community, living out their identity freely with others like
them.
While Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves contains themes essential to any run-of-the-mill
dystopian novel, at the heart of it the book itself acts as a way to preserve Indigenous culture, just
7
Mohsin
as the oral storytelling tradition does. By including details of how the small pack runs, how Story
is brought about, how certain ceremonies are held, Dimaline is able to convey the intricacies of
Indigenous culture for a new generation of readers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. She
captures the essence of community, how people are stronger together (blood-related or not) and
puts forward a message of hope for the future of the Indigenous peoples.
8
Mohsin
Works Cited
Aguila-Way, Tania. ENG357. 17th March 2020, University of Toronto, Toronto. Class lecture
indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/oral-tradition/.
Smith, Andrea. “Wahkohtowin: A Cree Way of Living.” The Tyee, The Tyee, 25 Feb. 2019,
thetyee.ca/News/2019/02/25/Cree-Way-of-Living/.