Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Character Analysis in Moon of the Crusted Snow

Dan is Evan’s father and Patricia’s husband. He’s quiet, thoughtful, and reserved—and he has a lot of respect for the community’s ways. Like Evan, Dan works as a maintenance worker and council member on the reserve. He takes an active role in community life, and he conducts tobacco rituals during hunting trips. As the winter progresses, Dan and Patricia move in with Evan to conserve energy. He bolsters his family’s spirits with traditional stories that teach his grandchildren Maiingan and Nangohns Anishinaabe values.

Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Quotes in Moon of the Crusted Snow

The Moon of the Crusted Snow quotes below are all either spoken by Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) or refer to Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Technology, Society, and Survival Theme Icon

“Bad moose meat is always better than a good pork chop[.]”

Related Characters: Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) (speaker), Evan Whitesky

Page Number and Citation: 6

Explanation and Analysis:

“Do you kids know the one about Nanabush and the geese?”

Related Characters: Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) (speaker), Nicole McCloud , Nangohns, Maiingan , Evan Whitesky, Nanabush, Patricia (Evan’s mother)

Related Symbols: The Blackout/Apocalypse

Page Number and Citation: 170

Explanation and Analysis:

“Don’t be greedy!”

Related Characters: Maiingan (speaker), Evan Whitesky, Nicole McCloud , Patricia (Evan’s mother) , Nanabush, Nangohns, Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father)

Page Number and Citation: 174

Explanation and Analysis:

Their ancestors were displaced from their original homeland in the South and the white people who forced them here had never intended for them to survive. […] But they refused to wither completely, and a core of dedicated people had worked tirelessly to create their own settlement away from this town.

Related Characters: Nicole McCloud , Nangohns, Maiingan , Aileen Jones , Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father), Patricia (Evan’s mother)

Page Number and Citation: 212

Explanation and Analysis:

No one wanted to deal with any more of them. Not now.

Related Characters: Nicole McCloud , Nangohns, Maiingan , Justin Scott, Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father), Patricia (Evan’s mother)

Related Symbols: The Blackout/Apocalypse

Page Number and Citation: 212

Explanation and Analysis:

Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Character Timeline in Moon of the Crusted Snow

The timeline below shows where the character Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) appears in Moon of the Crusted Snow. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Colonialism, Oppression, and Trauma Theme Icon

In a pine forest, Evan Whitesky shoots and takes down a moose. This makes Evan happy—the extra food will be... (full context)

Evan’s father (Dan) taught Evan how to hunt when he was little, and he’s been hunting... (full context)

After cutting up the moose, Evan pulls up to his simple house, noticing that the bedroom lights are off. His son... (full context)

Evan and Nicole have known each other for as long as Evan can remember; all his... (full context)

Evan decides to finish butchering the moose in the morning—he’ll use one of his allotted hunting... (full context)

The alarm goes off at 6:30. Evan is still groggy, so Nicole offers to get the kids up. Evan hears the kids... (full context)

Evan chats with the children, explaining that a moose gave himself to the family yesterday, so... (full context)

Nangohns wants to see the moose; Evan looks warmly at her and gently tells her that it’s not ready yet. Nangohns’s pigtails... (full context)

...but the people on the reserve are happy to finally have a proper building. When Evan and Nicole were young, there was far less infrastructure: they went to school in moldy... (full context)

When Nicole returns, Evan heads into the chilly shed to tackle the moose. He smells the scent of dying... (full context)

...have been getting shorter, but so far, the sunny autumn has kept winter at bay. Evan sighs as he looks at the blank television and his blank cell phone screen. He... (full context)

Evan drives by the reserve’s hockey rink and wonders if he would have made it as... (full context)

Evan parks and walks around to the back of his childhood home, where Dan is tanning... (full context)

Inside, Patricia is sitting at the computer, exasperated because the internet is out. Evan navigates easily through the well-worn house, chuckling because he knows Patricia likes to gamble online.... (full context)

Evan is surprised when Dan says he had a dream last night, because Dan never talks... (full context)

...heads into the hallway, where it’s even colder. The battery-powered kitchen clock says it’s 7:30. Evan walks in, also noticing how cold it is, and Nicole says the power is out,... (full context)

...too used to being on the grid and should go back to smoke signals. Meanwhile, Evan is a little worried—it’s been over a year since the whole town was off the... (full context)

Noticing the chill in the air, Evan decides to split wood for the furnace before the first big snowfall arrives. Even though... (full context)

...that the hydroelectric dam contractors used (and left behind when they finished building the dam). Evan asks if Cam has enough wood to heat his place while the power is out,... (full context)

Evan awakes to his friend Isaiah banging on the door. The phones are still out, so... (full context)

By the time they reach the meeting house, the sun is rising, which comforts Evan. He greets Dan, and Terry greets everyone in their native language. Terry explains that power... (full context)

...(this is the last thing he wants to do on a Saturday morning), which makes Evan chuckle. They drive over to pick up the flyers, joking with their friends Joanne Birch... (full context)

Evan and Nicole drop the kids off at Dan and Patricia’s, and Patricia tells them to... (full context)

...is seldom enforced. Tammy and Will have rum, rye, and mixers ready for poker night. Evan and Nicole mix themselves some drinks. Instead of playing poker, they end up sitting and... (full context)

...ploughing the roads, which are barely visible from the house. Still, Maiingan waves in case Evan is passing by in one of the plough trucks. Moose stew simmers on the stove—Evan... (full context)

...and sending him out for a smoke while they wait for more people to gather. Evan is already there, having refilled the gymnasium’s generator with diesel fuel for the meeting. (full context)

...lead them in a prayer. She’s nearly 90 years old, and she smiles sweetly as Evan pulls out a shell and some sage from her medicine bag. Aileen breaks some sage... (full context)

Aileen takes the fan and disperses sage smoke around Evan’s body. Then, Evan walks clockwise around the room, fanning the shell to direct the smoke... (full context)

...for the time being. Meanwhile, Aileen sits calmly with a stoic smile on her face. Evan feels appeased, knowing Aileen has lived through many winters without power or communications. He reassures... (full context)

Evan stirs the stew and looks into the fridge, feeling reassured when the fridge light pops... (full context)

...contact with one another and grabbing everything they can. Most of the shelves are empty. Evan walks through the store, noting that the only things left are soda crackers, a few... (full context)

...yet. Terry holds an emergency meeting for council members and a few essential staff, which Evan attends. Terry thinks that another town meeting with no news will make people panic, so... (full context)

Nicole wakes Evan up—she had a weird dream, and she’s scared. In Nicole’s dream, she was trying to... (full context)

Another heavy blizzard blows in. Evan, Isaiah, and Tyler spend all day ploughing the reserve. They pass by the grocery store,... (full context)

...for the first time in weeks. Two snowmobiles, pulling large sleds, emerge from the woods. Evan feels uneasy. The drivers head toward Evan, Isaiah, and Tyler, who look tense. When the... (full context)

...sleds, stocked up on any supplies they could find, and headed home to the reserve. Evan tells the boys to park the supplies behind the grocery store, go home to their... (full context)

The council members are gathered around a table in the community’s board room, along with Evan, Isaiah, Tyler, Kevin, Nick, and their parents. The room glows pink from the setting sun,... (full context)

Nicole is shocked when Evan tells her the story about Nick and Kevin. Evan calms her, reassuring her that they... (full context)

Another heavy storm is pounding down as Walter, Terry, Evan, Isaiah, and the council members pore over the data about their supplies in the boardroom,... (full context)

Sunlight bounces off the deep snow, and Evan feels calm as he smokes in solitude, although paranoia is growing in the town. He... (full context)

...a white man who looks to be in his mid-thirties; he’s big, bald, and burly. Evan wants to know how Justin found the reserve. Scott replies that he followed the sled... (full context)

Scott wants to see the flyers, but Evan and Isaiah refuse to show him. They stand in awkward silence, watching Scott warily. Terry... (full context)

The men huddle together. Evan and Walter don’t trust Scott, but Terry doesn’t want to turn someone away to die.... (full context)

Evan and Isaiah intervene while Walter attempts to calm the room, explaining that they’ve already met... (full context)

...Gibson that Nick described. Her heart warms as Nangohns enthusiastically joins in to count along. Evan enters, and Nicole gives him a tight hug, feeling safe. She’s worried that the situation... (full context)

Evan drifts to sleep. He dreams that he’s driving by the rink when his truck starts... (full context)

...his gun and shoots a moose, whooping in delight as it falls to the ground. Dan, Isaiah, Evan, and their friend Jeff look up, impressed. Scott gloats, before Jeff explains that... (full context)

Dan, as the eldest in the group, leads the other men to the moose, and they... (full context)

Evan, Nicole, Maiingan, and Nangohns dine on roasted moose, the last of their potatoes, and canned... (full context)

Evan clears the table; he’ll wash the dishes in cold water later to save fuel. Then,... (full context)

Evan walks into the next room, where hip-hop music blares from a speaker. Scott is sitting... (full context)

Evan wakes to Isaiah pounding on his door, saying that there’s an emergency: Jenna and her... (full context)

Terry approaches, and Evan is about to tell him about the party when Scott walks in, wearing his snowmobiling... (full context)

...will arrive and they need to take a stand. Terry looks at his boots. Suddenly, Evan realizes that Terry has lost control. Walter and Evan stare at each other in disbelief... (full context)

Evan rummages through a closet and pulls out a worn military blazer. Aileen sits by her... (full context)

...still here, and they’ll still be here even if the power never comes back on. Evan smiles, feeling hopeful for the first time in days. (full context)

Evan heads out into the snow, which has been falling for days, and waves goodbye to... (full context)

Evan marks the passage of time with deaths in the community—the death toll has been rising... (full context)

...line up soon. The line grows longer each week—about a 100 people came last week. Evan and Tyler line up 800 cans of ham and peas, ready to pass them out.... (full context)

Evan asks how Cam is doing. Sydney, looking uncomfortable, says that Evan should probably find Cam... (full context)

...enough, they’ll have no fuel left to light the lamp. They’ve stared living communally with Dan and Patricia to conserve fuel. Nangohns and Maiingan play on the floor, and Dan begins... (full context)

...slides around cooling it on the rocks, and that’s how moss came into the world. Evan asks Maiingan and Nangohns what they think the moral of the story is. They reply,... (full context)

...that they’ll have to keep an eye on some people who became unruly last time. Evan and Tyler go to fetch cans of chili and realize that several boxes are missing.... (full context)

...out over somebody cutting in line, and it rapidly grows into an all-out brawl. Even Evan and Tyler are fighting each other. (full context)

...Scott—he shot his rifle into the air to calm the crowd. He’s surprised to see Evan and Tyler fighting. Scott heads inside with them, asking why things are so out of... (full context)

Mesmerized by the dancing flames, Evan stokes a fire in a traditional tipi tent that he’s built in the forest. He’s... (full context)

In Evan’s dream, a fierce blizzard howls as he opens the garage door. The sun is red... (full context)

...heads outside to refill the pot with snow to boil for drinking water, just as Dan and Patricia used to do before the reserve went on the grid. Nicole wonders what... (full context)

Evan fights back tears as he and Tyler pull Aileen’s body across the snow. She died... (full context)

...looks around and realizes that they need to rearrange the bodies to make more room. Evan agrees. If he can’t bury Aileen, he wants to at least give her “the dignity”... (full context)

Evan and Tyler reshuffle three rows of corpses and move Aileen. Suddenly, Evan notices that a... (full context)

Evan, Tyler, and Isaiah approach the bungalow complex, warning one another to keep their guns on... (full context)

Evan asks why Scott said he knew what to eat when the food runs out and... (full context)

Feeling sick, Evan asks if they stole a body. Scott replies that it’s a matter of survival. Tyler... (full context)

...in the basement. Deep down, she believes that she’ll be back here one day. Outside, Dan and Nicole’s parents wait for her, while Patricia plays frisbee with Maiingan and Nangohns on... (full context)

Moon of the Crusted Snow

Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Character Analysis

Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Quotes in Moon of the Crusted Snow

Chapter 1 Quotes

Chapter 25 Quotes

Epilogue: Ziigwaan (Spring) Quotes

Dan Whitesky (Evan’s father) Character Timeline in Moon of the Crusted Snow