The Sign of the Beaver

The Sign of the Beaver portrays European colonists as believing Indigenous people are uncivilized with no claim to the lands they want to take from them. In turn, the book suggests that Indigenous group members might believe colonists are cruel people who deserve no respect. Having recently been at war prior to the novel, the two groups coexist in a tense, unstable truce. Amid this resentment comes Matt, a boy who simply wants to survive as he waits for his family. Matt’s journey of good will, nurtured by the compassionate Saknis and his reluctant grandson, Attean, proves there is a different path for their respective peoples (or any two groups, for that matter)—one of compassion, understanding, and respect.

Early on, Saknis and Attean observe Matt as he struggles to survive. They take pity on him and rescue him from a swarm of bees. Saknis then makes a significant gesture toward Matt and, indirectly, Matt’s family and other colonists to come: He orders his grandson to take English lessons from Matt. This forces the two boys together in a way that they can only tolerate if they become friends.

Matt owes the pair for saving his life, and can use the company, so he agrees to teach Attean—but the latter balks at the idea of learning English. The former realizes that, like himself, Attean enjoys adventure stories, so he refocuses his lessons on the action scenes in Robinson Crusoe. Attean responds well to this approach and retells Matt’s stories to his village. After finishing Robinson Crusoe, Matt turns to the Bible, which contain riveting stories of adventure and death, courage and crime. For Attean and the villagers, these tales form a bridge between their world and that of Matt and the colonists. They discover, especially with the story of Noah’s ark, that both groups have similar myths. In this way, they can recognize each other’s humanity.

Matt is anxious for Attean’s company, so he actively listens to his instructions on how to trap game, build bows and arrows, and create trail signs. In turn, Attean realizes that Matt isn’t an arrogant fool like so many colonists—but a determined boy who exhibits the same toughness as his own people. They’re more alike than Attean initially thought.

Grandmother, who despises colonists, refuses to welcome Matt until he pleads with her to save Attean’s trapped dog, Aremus. Matt’s courage in standing up to her, along with his genuine desire to help her grandson, cause her to accept the boy. To her, Matt has proven himself an actual human being, not some monster she must resist.

Having come to trust Matt over the course of the novel, Saknis and Attean invite him to their winter camp. This is a compliment to Matt and a step toward bringing the clan and colonists together. However, Matt declines out of loyalty to his family. Saknis and Attean respect his decision—if anything, it makes them admire him more—and they part as friends and, in a way, as family.

Despite his village’s plan to leave for a new home, Saknis binds Attean and Matt forever by getting them to listen to each other. The boys themselves do the hard work of overcoming their biases by sharing stories, hunting and fishing together, and learning words in each other’s languages. Saknis’s outreach and the boys’ willingness to learn take them on a path to compassion, understanding, respect—and love between once enemies, despite other forces working against them.