Reader Response: The Marrow Thieves

Community Connections

In "The Marrow Thieves," Cherie Dimaline has her characters connected to their First Nation in

a moving manner. It is this that makes them see this connection as part of something bigger,

blended with nature and the spirits of the ancestors. Consider the following passage:

"We are all connected," Miigwans rasped, his voice raw. "Like the roots of a tree, we run deep.

We are bound to each other, to the land, to the spirits. We can't lose sight of that." (Dimaline,

Chapter One).

This quote manifests the importance of kinship for this communityThe identity of self is formed

by not only the personal circumstances and encounters, but also the relationship webs

interlocking serving as the foundation. The community is not just an extension of blood relations

but also a place where people maintain the sense of mutual help, thus increasing the population’s

resiliency.

Encountering Elders

In "The Bone Catchers", the eldest are invaluable. It is their role to keep cultural information,

conveying the young with tales, customs, and ways of living that have been retained over the
centuries. Consider the following passage where Miigwans shares the history of the

world:Consider the following passage where Miigwans shares the history of the world:

"Before the floods," Miigwans began, his voice hoarse, "there were many different stories. Each

tribe had its own way of explaining the world, the sky, the creatures that walked the earth. But

there were threads that ran through them all, threads that spoke of respect, of balance, of living in

harmony with all things." (Dimaline, Chapter Three)

Neshashgwe, however, uses migwans who conveys the history and reasons to the young ones for

the current predicament of their people. This sense of knowledge strengthens them as they build

their location in the world and endeavor to survive.

Manjunatha 03

Connecting Cultures

Although I still haven't managed to finish reading the book. I can already make comparisons

about the life of the Indigenous people in "The Marrow Thieves' ' with the history of the

residential school in Canada. Just like being forced to make sacrifices of your living bone
marrow to sustain the life of your dreamless kin resemble treating and punishing your Indigenous

children by taking away their language and culture. The cheerful looking dresses and the bouncy

steps are not only a breach of the Indigenous identity but also the inalienable right of

self-determination.

This is only the first encounter with "The Marrow Thieves, ” the book that I'm confident will

open me up to fascinating insights about the themes of resilience, cultural identity, and survival.

Besides, I rest my hopes on the narrations of the characters' stories and the important role of tales

in their struggle for the right case.

Work cited

Dimaline, C. (2017). Marrow thieves. Cormorant Books Incorporated.