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Considerations for Teachers and Students

Considerations around Gender Stereotypes within Native Communities
Within The Marrow Thieves, Frenchie demonstrates a constant need to prove the
strength and validity of his identity as an Indigenous young man. Hunting, singing,
scouting, climbing, and seeking to learn the traditional Cree language are all ways in
which Frenchie attempts to prove his worth, his masculinity, and his strength. As these
important cultural practices and symbols are emphasized, however, it is important to
note the history surrounding stereotypes of Indigenous populations such as those of
spiritual guides, shamans, or, alternatively as "savage" or "wild" individuals that must
be "civilized" into a mold of whiteness. It is also important to note that Frenchie’s
concept of strength and masculinity is not necessarily tied to a white understanding of
gender and sex; all genders are expected to be able to perform tasks as they are
necessary to the survival and success of their communities. This is demonstrated
through the alternation of instruction and teaching between Miigs and Minerva.
Considerations around Indigenous History
Within American Culture, we can no longer ignore the assimilation and
segregation Indigenous groups have experienced, and our historical impact on their
suffering. It is important we all learn the truth of past traumas, and center the
conversation about Indigenous people with love and compassion. Giving a land
acknowledgement before teaching content focused around Indigenous
communities—attributing the land in a mindful way to the specific communities who
have been forcibly removed—respects their ongoing relationship with the land. In
addition to this, general language around indigeneity, survivance, and
settler-colonialism will be a major factor in introducing this text. Teachers have an
obligation to give space for conversations about Indigenous culture. It is imperative that
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educators recognize the possible misconceptions students may have about Indigenous
culture, and redirect the conversation to understanding and empathy.
Considerations around Climate Change and Environmental Racism
Within The Marrow Thieves, environmental disaster has been brought on by the
unyielding expansion and domination of settler colonialists and residential boarding
schools. As water becomes a scarcity, it is the Indigenous populations who are
historically displaced in an effort to hoard resources for the white population. Climate
disaster is not, however, a work of fiction and marginalized peoples are often the ones
most drastically affected by its outcomes. Teachers may look into the carbon footprints
and resource managements of different populations; while nations such as the United
States1 and Canada2 consistently produce an estimated 87 million tons of air pollution
per year, it is undoubtedly marginalized populations that are most vulnerable to the
unfortunate consequences of overproduction and pollution.
Key Concepts and Vocabulary
Key:
Concepts
Vocabulary
Outside Knowledge
● Indigeneity*
● Genocide *
● Settler-Colonialism*
● Anti/racism
● Environmental Racism / Sustainability
● Bone Marrow

1
https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20about%2068%20million
,atmosphere%20in%20the%20United%20States.
2
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-emissions/sources-
sinks-executive-summary-2021.html
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● Oneirology
● Recruiter
● Mètis/Anishinaabe/Inuit/Cree *
● Survivance / Survival *
Concepts
Understanding indigeneity is crucial for readers when reading The Marrow
Thieves. Developing a general understanding of the history of the land in the U.S. and
Canada, which was stolen from indigenous peoples by settlers from other (mostly
European) countries, helps readers understand the setting and context of the story.
Additionally, the concepts of genocide and ethnic cleansing should be ones that
readers familiarize themselves with, as they are central to the novel as well as to
American history (relating to the native population). The following questions will help
set the stage for The Marrow Thieves in a classroom setting:
● What does indigenous mean?
○ Who is the indigenous population in the U.S.? In other countries?
● Where has genocide occurred in human history? In recent history?
○ How does genocide relate to native populations in the U.S. and Canada?
How do you think it will relate to the novel?
● Who is familiar with the term Settler-Colonialism? What do you think its
meaning entails?
Another concept central to the reading is the “American Indian residential
(boarding) school,” which was commonly referred to in the text. By identifying and
highlighting this history will help students understand how it relates to other central
concepts like genocide, settler-colonialism, native culture, and (Cree) language.
Vocabulary
Pre-Reading: These terms will be essential to student comprehension, so it is
important to get students involved in their own learning. Begin by having students get
in small groups. Each group will be responsible for the research and “mastery” of one
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to two vocabulary words. Then students will enter new groups, and each new group
will have 1 student from each of the first groups. They will then share their mastery of
the vocabulary word(s) with the other students.

During Reading: Have students create a personal dictionary by making a t-chart. As

they read, write down subject specific words they do not understand on one side of the
chart, and non-specific terms they do not understand on the other side of the chart.
When you pause, ask them to use context clues to supply the definition of the subject
specific words they did not understand. This will encourage students to understand the
word on a more conceptual level. Allow students time to explore definitions of their
non-specific words and open a space for questions.

Post Reading: Students can go on one final vocabulary book walk to find terms they
would like to understand, use words from their personal dictionary, or they can use the
key terms provided. They will then get into groups, using the internet to find more texts
(articles, books, infographics, etc.) that will explain the word. The “text” they select
should connect in some way to The Marrow Thieves. Groups can then share their
word(s) and chosen text(s) with the class and explain their reasoning.

Additional resources

Some of these topics that are covered in the additional resources may be difficult and
upsetting for students to learn about. To address this, there are links to the full article,
but certain points of the article are also listed that teachers may choose to highlight. In
this section, you will find certain areas of the videos that students might find most
relevant, or how to teach more difficult topics.
The Indian Act
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● https://www.facinghistory.org/stolen-lives-indigenous-peoples-canada-and-india
n-residential-schools/chapter-3/historical-background
○ This article is a great, and fairly brief explanation of the history of the
Indian Act. This act built a lot of the foundation that led to the oppression
of indigenous people and will be useful for putting the situation the
characters in The Marrow Thieves find themselves in context. The best
way to have students consume this article would be for the teacher to take
a read of the article all the way through and have the students all read it
together as a group, through a guided reading. This will allow students to
be able to ask about any definitions or topics they may be confused about.
Settler-Colonialism
● https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-settlercolonialism
○ This resource provided by Learning for Justice provides a discussion on
what settler-colonialism is and who settler-colonizers are, while also
providing a real example of this concept through discussing the standoff
that occurred at the Lincoln memorial in 2019 between an Omaha Nation
Vietnam veteran and a group of White boys from a Kentucky Catholic
school. Settler-colonialism is a prominent idea within The Marrow
Thieves and having a basic understanding of this idea will be beneficial
for students as they read about how, why, and by who the dreams of
indigenous people are harvested within the novel. The best way for
teachers to use articles would be to identify pieces of it that would be
beneficial to students and discuss with them about the standoff and how
that event is an example of settler-colonialism.
Residential Schooling
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zuRQmwaREY
○ This resource is a great introduction to have students watch before
reading The Marrow Thieves. This video offers some background on the
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history of residential schooling, which is based around the personal

experiences of Chief Robert Joseph.
Climate Change:
● https://oneplanetonefuture.org/
○ This interactive resource includes a variety of different materials that
focus on the increasingly problematic results of climate change. By
clicking on the ‘Artwork’ tab, viewers can interact with paintings and
photographs of locations from around the world that portray the results of
climate change. These pieces revolve around topics of: water, culture,
environments, and species. By clicking on the “Education” tab, viewers
can choose from different videos that are narrated and go more in-depth
on the negative results of climate change.
Indigenous Movements:
● https://doaj.org/article/e4dbfb9d82fc4a07add680428ba73823 (Introduction to
Section 2)
○ The introduction of Indigenous Movements of Ecuador: between
collective action and connective action, a collaborative article written by
students of the Technical University of Cotopaxi and Ambato, outlines
the concept of indigenous movements in the face of discrimination. This
is a valuable real-life connection students can make to the fiction world of
the Marrow Thieves.

Themes and essential questions

Family
a. What bonds a family?
b. How does Miig and his family decide who to bring into their family?
c. What do you value in your blood family? What do you value in your found
family?
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Storytelling
a. What is the cultural significance of a “Coming To” story in Native culture?
b. What is the function of each family member sharing or not sharing their
coming-to story?
c. How would you tell your own “Coming To” story?

Trauma
a. How does trauma affect one’s behavior?
b. How does your culture create space for grief? How is this similar to and
different from the Indigenous grief in The Marrow Thieves?
c. How do the characters respond differently to their collective traumatic
experiences?

Desire
a. Has something ever interfered with your desires? How did you react to that
circumstance?
b. In what ways are the desires of the Recruiters and the Indigenous people
different?
c. What are some of the contradictions in Frenchie’s desires? How do these
desires change as his character develops?

Survival
a. What is the role of trust in ensuring the survival of Indigenous people?
b. Why do the characters’ methods of survival change from running to fighting?
c. What does survival look like in your life?

Discussions questions

Instructors can use these questions in small groups, for writing/journaling, and
for full-class discussions:

Pre-reading:
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● Take a look at the book’s title. What is marrow? What do you think about the
idea that “thieves” can take a part of someone’s body? Who do you think these
“thieves” are?
○ Is the stealing of marrow, or something else anatomical, plausible in real
life? What would be the motivation for this theft?
● What prior knowledge do you have regarding the history and cultural practices
of indigenous groups in the United States? Where does this knowledge come
from? Interrogate this.
● What is the importance of stories to you? How are stories told to you?
○ What kind of stories are dreams?
○ Why are dreams such an important aspect of the human experience?
● What role does community play in your life? How does it affect how you move
through life?
● Who, in your life or in general, can be considered “family?”
○ What defines a family?
○ What is a found family? Have you read any books with “found family”
tropes?

During reading:

● Frenchie says “I was no danger to anything. At best, I was prey,” (9). What does
he mean by this? What is the significance of metaphors that rely on nature? On
page 42, he notices that “the hunted [are] trying to hunt,” (47). What sparks this
change from portrayal of victim to perpetrator? Who does Frenchie give power
to in these quotes, and how is this power dealt with?
● How does Frenchie learn about the past of his “family” and, more broadly, his
community? Why does this mean so much to him?
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● “Dreams get caught in the webs woven into your bones. That's where they live
In the marrow there”(19) What role do “dreams” play in Frenchie’s life, and the
life of Minerva and Miig?
● “We took turns, splitting into groups, Hunting and Homestead, Switching off
every three months” (34) Who has responsibility in Frenchie’s group? Does this
align along gender or age? How does everyone's ‘role’ benefit the survival of the
group?
● “There were seven of us in the group: five boys and two girls, not including the
Elders. Not one of us was related by blood…But it was also lonely not having
the common connections of grandparents or aunts like we used to have often”
(20).Who is a part of Frenchie’s (bio) and (tribal family)? How is Frenchie’s
family different from “traditional” or “nuclear” ideas of family?
● What was the significance of Minerva’s story of the Rougarou?
● “My own braid was two days old, and tufts stuck up here and there.'' She untied
the bottom and pulled it apart. I noticed the asshole watching us, a peculiar look
on his face like jealousy, and I smirked” (166). What does Frenchie’s long hair
mean to him, and what does it suggest about his community/culture? Can you
think of examples in your life of how physical or appearance-related markers
have larger, more symbolic meanings?
● Frenchie’s community’s circumstances were influenced by climate change.
How? Do you see this progression of events as realistic given current events?

Post-reading:

● Compare your definition of ‘family’ from before reading the book to now. How
did it change? How did it stay the same?
● How does the maturity of individuals in the group affect how the story of the
elders is carried on? What about gender?
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● What is the significance of the reunion on the last pages of the book?What does
this ending suggest about Indigenous communities outside of the novel? Why is
this element of survivance important?
● What is the role of loss in the book? What is the role of hope? Find examples
such as “Suddenly, I realized that there was something worse than running,
worse even than the schools. There was loss”(110). How can life be both
apocalyptic and hopeful?
● “You must always go home,” (211). What is home to Frenchie? How does the
definition of home change throughout the book? Does physical migration detract
from the possibility of “home?”
● What is the implication behind the futuristic society in The Marrow Thieves
losing the ability to dream? Who didn’t lose their ability to dream? Why do you
think they retained it?

Journal prompts

Instructions:
For the next 10-15 minutes, please write half a page to a page about the following prompt. Use
details from the readings to support your answers.

Checklist:
I have written for the past 10-15 minutes
I have half a page to a full page of writing
I have used key details from the book in my writing
I have at least one sentence or idea I am comfortable sharing with the class
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Journal Prompts
1. Writing through the eyes of another character:
Write a letter as Frenchie to his brother Mitch recalling his life so far without him.
Include specific characters and details from the story.

2. Family: How would you define “family”? What might it mean to a character like
Frenchie vs. a character like Wab? What does family mean to you in your own life –
how important is it?

3. Dreams: What is significant about the character's ability to dream? Why is their ability
to dream being hunted in the first place? Are dreams important to you? Is the ability to
dream something that warrants being killed over?
a. The significance of the character’s ability to dream is… Their ability to dream
is being hunted because… Dreams are important to me because… The ability to
dream is/isn’t something that warrants being killed over because…

4. Storytelling: How is storytelling important in The Marrow Thieves? How does

storytelling help define our identity and culture?

5. Values: What values does this group share with each other that keeps them united
despite facing collective tragedy? How do similar values play into your own life and
close social groups?
a. One value the group shares with one another is… One value I have that I also
share with others/ someone else is…

6. Trauma: Characters in the book face both physical and emotional trauma. How is
emotional trauma different from physical trauma? How are they similar? Identify one
instance of physical trauma Frenchie faces and one instance of emotional trauma he
faces. How do these instances of trauma impact Frenchie?
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