Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Moon of the Crusted Snow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology, Society, and Survival
Colonialism, Oppression, and Trauma
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
Gender, Power, and Wisdom
Summary
Analysis
Nicole lifts her sunglasses and surveys the living room, which is stripped bare. The television is still there, but it hasn’t been used for two years. Nicole tries not to feel nostalgic as she makes a final pass through the house, leaving photos and mementos 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 the grass. Maiingan is seven now, and his hair hangs long around his shoulders. Unable to live in a place marked by so much pain and loss, the community has drifted off the reservation.
Two years have passed since the story’s violent climax, and Evan is notably absent on the scene—it’s unclear if he died in the shootout. Nicole, meanwhile, is emotionally grounded, stoic, and resilient. Her quiet power mimics Aileen’s grounded authority, establishing her as a leader among the survivors. The survivors’ decision to abandon the reservation shows that the losses they’ve endured have left the community traumatized.
Themes
The community knows that they were not meant to survive in this environment—it is not their true homeland, since they were displaced from the south and driven far northward. They’ve decided to take control of their own destiny. The core of the remaining community has been building another settlement, away from this tragic place. Nicole scoops up the kids, saying “Let’s go see Daddy. He’s waiting for us,” and they walk away in single file, heading to their new home, nestled deep in the Anishinaabe territory. They don’t look back.
Despite the survivors’ deep sadness, they remain resilient, and they’re determined to keep moving forward to rebuild their society anew. This time, however, they’ll rely on the indigenous traditions that have sustained them for many more generations than their modernized, technology-reliant reservation did. The story ends on an ambiguous note—it’s unclear whether Nicole and the children are going to visit Evan’s grave, or if Evan did actually survive, and they’re going to reunite with him in the new settlement he helped build.
Themes
