The Marrow Thieves Sparknotes

In the story “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline, a young Indian boy by the name of Francis, or Frenchie, is forced to live in a harsh world ruined by global warming and one that has lost a great ability, many have lost the ability to dream. Those who cannot dream have discovered this ability can be uncovered through the bone marrow of Indigenous groups, putting Frenchie in significant risk, and resulting in his family being lost to the corrupt environment. Despite being alone, he eventually finds refuge in a group of survivors of varying age who welcome him as one of their own. Although he is no longer alone, he is still faced with many hardships. Along the way, he is riddled with feelings of grief as he sees those around him being taken

They patrol the woods and rural areas with shiny, silver whistles and windbreakers labeled with “Government of Canada: Department of Oneirology.” It is for this reason that an idea engraved into the heads of many Indigenous people is that to survive, they need to be moving. Miigwan, an Elder of the group along with Minerva, enforces this idea upon the rest, and he does so by encouraging them to pack up and move camp either daily or every other day. While Miigwan and most of the group are content with this way of living, agreeing that staying in one place for too long is a risk they cannot afford to take, the newest member does not share this idea. Rose, being described as “moody”, argues against this way of living. She declares, “We should go after the government arseholes ourselves, no more running” (33). She also says, “Someone better come up with a plan soon, by the Jesus. Or I’ll make one” (33), and she is later caught by Francis mumbling about action. This shows how unsatisfied Rose is with running and how she wishes to act. This stems from her idea that running will give no outcome other than more running, and for change to happen, you must rise about it. Rose believes the only way they will receive a better outcome is by standing their ground and no longer allowing the government to walk all over