Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves explores Indigenous identity and community in a dystopian future. Indigenous identity and community are portrayed as resilient because of the risks they overcome of being hunted for their bone marrow, which contains the unique ability to dream. However, despite threats to their lives, indigenous people remain resilient, relying on their culture, traditions, and community to cope. Indigenous identity and community are portrayed as resilient. Firstly, they are proud of their culture and traditions, which helps maintain their identity. For instance, they “longed for the old-timey. We wore our hair in braids to show it. We made sweat lodges…” (Dimaline). This quote illustrates how they rely on their culture and traditions to maintain their identity, as it highlights how they use traditional practices to connect with their ancestors. Moreover, they …show more content…
For example, portraying the devastating effects of indigenous identity erasure, Frenchie questions, “‘How do you have language?’ My voice broke on the last syllable. My chest tightened. How could she have the language?” (Dimaline). In the novel, most indigenous people have lost their language and, consequently, part of their identity. This passage highlights the impact loss of language has on many Indigenous people and shows the connection between language and identity for Indigenous people and how much they yearn to regain it. Even just learning about the risks they face is traumatizing in itself, as portrayed by Slopper: “‘He didn’t even hear it all’ ... ‘Slopper was pretty messed up for months after. He stopped playing, didn’t want to learn anything, and even stopped sleeping so good.’” (Dimaline). In conclusion, the risks that cultural loss poses to Indigenous communities and identities underline the urgent need to protect their unique