Importance Of Unity In Moon Of The Crusted Snow

Taylor Walton
Ms. Krishna
NBE3U1 - 04
17 April 2023
Unity in Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Communities Importance to Survival
Having a sense of community is a powerful asset to life. The strength and unity of an environment can act as the difference between life and death. In Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, a small Anishabee community living on a reservation outside the city battles a harsh winter causing a power outage that transforms their way of life. The community experiences various losses and becomes exposed to non-Anishnabeg newcomers; this forces them to adapt to multiple changes and obstacles in their way, by working together and staying true to their culture. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

By staying true to their culture and community beliefs, they are able to surpass these challenges and grow closer. For example, Alieen overcomes many acts of hate and hostility towards her culture throughout her life, which in return gives her more confidence and power in surviving the outage. Alieen explains “‘They followed us up here and started taking our children away from us! That’s when our world ended again. And that wasn’t the last time. We’ve seen this, what’s the word again?’ ‘Apocalypse.’ ‘Yes, apocalypse. We’ve had that over and over. But we always survived. We’re still here. And we’ll still be here, even if the power and the radios don’t come back on and we never see any white people ever again’” (149). Aileen's view on the outage is different than others on the reserve since she had not only lost her land, Anishinaabemowin language, and children; but her entire life was taken away. She is aware that challenging situations occur frequently for the Indigenous peoples. She focuses on the word “apocalypse”, and believes that a power outage is nothing compared to what has happened before, as she explains to Evan that “we're still here, and we’ll still be here”( 149) suggesting by her wording, that it is a community effort that ensures they will survive. Alieen knows that the community must work together to overcome these challenges by using their

With the council members working hard to resolve the ongoing problems, others in the community believe it is their duty to provide for the council while working. Those in the community have to look out for each other, and offer help when it is required as, “Nicole had offered to make it for the guys working tonight, whenever they needed a rest and a meal. Evan had spread the word, and the crew would likely start taking up the offer in the coming hours” (47-48). Nicole is a kind wife and woman who consistently looks out for those around her. She offers to make food for the men working, even when the food supply is limited during the winter. She wants to ensure they have enough fuel in them to carry out the jobs for others. This illustrates how the Anishinabe community collaborates and supports each other no matter the circumstance to cater to each other's needs. Moreover, during the emergency that takes over the reserve, others have to look out for their relatives and friends to guarantee their health and safety. As Alieen shares her advice on the best ways to cope with the situation, she explains that “now is the time to help your relatives prepare their winter homes. Make sure they have enough food. Enough wood. Enough medicine to make it through the dark season” ( 53). Winter without power and food sources is a struggle for