Violence In The Marrow Thieves By Dimaline

The novel The Marrow Thieves (2017) by Dimaline is about violence. It explores the violence Indigenous people have experienced throughout times of environmental ruin and government oppression. In the novel, Frenchie is a 16 yr old boy who was original with his brother, Mitch, since he had recently lost both of his parents. They were hiding in a treehouse located somewhere in Canada but suddenly, they were found by recruiters, people sent by the government to detain Indigenous people. The world had been destroyed by natural disasters. People lost the ability to dream and the government believed the rich would be able to dream again if they took the bone marrow of Indigenous people. They would hunt them down and violently attack them when they least expected it.

He was later found by a group of 8 people including, Wab, Slopper, Miigwans, Riri, Minerva, Chi-boy, and the twins, Tree and Zheegwon. Later on, they found Rose and they were each given tasks where they had to hunt for food and find shelter. As part of the group was around a fire, Miig starts talking about the history of the schools and how they first started. Indigenous people were forced to obey the rules created by those who took over their land. Miig mentions how the violence they experienced began on page 23 where it says, “We welcomed visitors…when we were on our knees with fever and pukes, they decided they liked us there, on our knees. And that’s when they opened the first schools. “We suffered there. We almost lost our language. Many lost their innocence, their laughter, their lives.” Indigenous people had let the travelers inhabit their lands and they ended up turning their backs on them. They decided they liked being in charge instead of just being a normal visitor and they took over the lands and people. During these times, the world was suffering from pollution and people were losing the ability to