Empire of Wild

“Old medicine has a way of being remembered, of haunting the land where it was laid. People are forgetful. Medicine is not.”

This quotation occurs in the Prologue, as Dimaline sets the stage for the narrative to come. She evokes the idea that traditions and culture cannot easily be cast aside and that specific locations have deep ties to the culture that has existed there. The quotation sets the stage for how the supernatural figure of the rogarou will appear in the narrative, even though this supernatural presence may seem surprising in a narrative set in a recognizably contemporary world.

“For girls, he was the creature who kept you off the road or made you walk in packs.”

This quotation explains how the legend of the rogarou was used to frighten young girls in Métis culture. According to the myth of the rogarou, he preys on women and girls walking alone at night. In many cultures, folklore is used to pass down lessons in order to keep communities stable and safe. The legend of the rogarou has particular significance given the reality that in both Canada and the United States, Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by violence and more likely to be murdered or go missing. The rogarou legend uses traditional mythology to respond to a terrible reality facing modern Indigenous women.