Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Marrow Thieves, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression
Family and Coming of Age
Humans and Nature
Trauma, Identity, and Pride
Summary
Analysis
Miig says that the Anishnaabe people have been on these lands for thousands of years. They welcomed the people who named the land Canada, and the Anishnaabe fought valiantly during wars. However, the newcomers decided they liked subjugating the Anishnaabe. The newcomers opened the first residential schools, which almost robbed the Anishnaabe of their language. When the schools were shut down, they eventually reclaimed their land, honored their pain, and moved on. Then, governments began to fight over water. America ran pipelines to Anishnaabe lands, as that's where the freshest water was. They went further and further north for water and when the Great Lakes became too polluted, they fenced the lakes off.
The first part of Story reaches back hundreds of years to when settlers first arrived in North America. This makes it clear that what's happening in the present isn't a distinct chapter of history; rather, it's a continuation of a long line of oppression and abuse that Indigenous people have suffered at the hands of white settler governments. The idea that the freshest water was on Indigenous traditional lands suggests that the Indigenous people, because of their long history, have the knowledge to care for the land and keep it pristine, unlike the governments that pollute it.
Themes
As the governments stole water from the rivers, the North melted. Miig says that the northern people are, as far as he's heard, still okay, which is why they're moving north toward them now. Frenchie tells the reader that Miig tells Story every week in some form or another: sometimes he focuses on the residential schools, and other times he explains treaties or earthquakes. Miig believes they have to know the history if they want to know how to survive.
The idea that Indigenous people need to know the history if they want to survive points to one of the novel's main ideas: the horrific and cruel parts of the past are easy to repeat if people don't remember them and remember what happened. By remembering that the Anishnaabe were once the sole rulers of the land, Miig can give the kids perspective.
Themes
Returning to Story, Miig says that after ten years of wars over water, world leaders came to new agreements. The Anishnaabe were spread out, alone, and their home was gone. Because of the earthquakes, rising sea levels, and constant rain, half of the population died—and the corpses made others sick. Those who survived were unable to reproduce naturally, families were torn apart, and people stopped dreaming. Miig stops before getting to the darkest parts of Story and sends the children to bed.
This portion of Story refers to rampant climate change, which was specifically caused by these governments that seemed uninterested or unable to stop and fix what they were doing. Again, this suggests that the Indigenous people should've been consulted, given that they're the ones with the knowledge of how to both maintain and heal the land.
Themes
Frenchie hears RiRi calling that she can't sleep, and he lies down with her. This is the new routine: RiRi is desperate to hear Story and understand, but Miig wants her to grow up first before she learns that people view her as nothing more than a valuable commodity. RiRi begs for Frenchie to tell her Story, but Frenchie refuses. He thinks that RiRi is getting older and smarter, and reasoning with her is getting harder. He tells RiRi that they let Slopper hear Story when he was seven, and it was devastating for him. Slopper stopped sleeping well and playing for months.
Miig's unwillingness to let RiRi hear Story shows that he understands the consequences of knowing that one isn't thought of as entirely human by others: for Slopper, clearly, this knowledge forced him to grow up too fast and reckon with the horrors of the world too soon. With this, Miig suggests that children need to follow a particular progression as they grow and come of age, which will also apply to Frenchie.
Themes
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Frenchie is quiet for a moment and then agrees to tell RiRi something about why they're running. He says that years ago, the world got sick with disease and sadness. People stopped being able to dream and saw their psychiatrists for pills to help them sleep. Frenchie hears a low whistle outside—the alarm—and leaps up. Everyone else but Slopper is around the fire. Miig motions to the east, and Frenchie knows that they'll have to fight if the intruder is dangerous. He grabs a burning stick and steps back into the bushes. Miig moves into the open, and then Chi-Boy emerges holding a girl (Rose) by her forearm. She shouts and glares at everyone, and Frenchie hopes that she's not a cousin.
As one of the older kids in the group, Frenchie has some responsibility to help guide RiRi toward adulthood—and in this case, he's beginning to see that while she's still young, she's becoming more mature and is possibly ready to handle the truth. Juxtaposing the beginning of Story with the fear surrounding Rose's arrival reminds the reader of just how precarious Frenchie and his family's position is. Though Rose is a friend, they can't forget that their lives could've changed dramatically for the worse.
Themes
