The past few days we have been working on reading the book The Marrow Thieves. I really enjoyed this assignment because it allowed me to connect the concepts we have been learning about for the last five weeks to a real situation, even though the story is fictitious. Something I found really interesting in the book was how the Native characters were going back to their roots and reviving their culture which had dwindled.
Language is a very important concept in Native culture and in this book. The characters in the book tend to be less hostile and tend to have a sort of soft spot for the people they come upon who speak a Native language. In the part with the two men, who turned out to be traitors that were working for the recruiters, this soft spot for Native speakers got the better of the group and it cost them two family members. This goes to show that the characters were willing to set aside their unease just because the people knew a Native language. This proves how important language is to Native people. Also the fact that Minerva was making a point to teach her Native language to the younger members of the family, and the reactions that this practice received (French’s jealousy of Rose, who Minerva was teaching while he hunted), goes to show how honorable it is to know a Native language.
Jonathan July 20, 2018
I thought the book was great and I had a hard time putting it down. Also I completely agree, Avery because as I was reading Marrow Thieves I kept making making the connection between the topics we have been discussing in class to the story. Especially, the part when Minerva would tell the stories at night before bed. Through the stories they learned the roles, culture, and language of their people. In most The role of the elder for the Ojibwe people it to give the gift to pass on the culture, roles, morals, and language knowledge onto their youth in the Ojibwe community,