The Marrow Thieves

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline is a science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic Canada where climate devastation ravages the world and the Canadian government’s Recruiters hunt Natives for the dreams that are woven into their bone marrow. 

Millions have died in the wake of global warming, and those who remain have experienced such extensive trauma that they have lost the ability to dream. Dimaline describes a world plagued by natural disasters, with vivid descriptions of persistent rains, poisoned water, a shortage of food, and supersized wildlife. Coastlines have slowly disintegrated, allowing cities to fall into the ocean, and earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis have wiped out communities.

The Recruiters forcibly detain the Indigenous peoples in facilities modeled after residential schools for the purpose of marrow harvesting; the goal is to restore the ability to dream to non-Indigenous people. Despite the best efforts of Indigenous leaders to negotiate with the Canadian government, they have been unable to reach an agreement to end the hunt of the Indigenous peoples.

At the beginning of the novel, 16-year-old Francis—nicknamed Frenchie for his Métis heritage—is on the run from the Recruiters with his brother, Mitch. The Recruiters locate them, and Mitch sacrifices himself so that Frenchie can escape. A group of Natives—also lost and alone after losing loved ones—rescues Frenchie from living on his own in the wilderness. 

Throughout the novel, context often shifts between past and present as Frenchie remembers details from his own life before joining the group, and various group members tell their own histories (“coming-to stories”) or general history of life before the disaster (“Story”). Miigwans, an Anishinaabe man, steps up as the leader of the group, although he is still processing the trauma of losing his husband, Isaac, to the Recruiters. The other wise elder, Minerva, has a voice so powerful that her singing results in the breakdown of a marrow extraction machine. Frenchie falls in love with newcomer Rose, and the group soon becomes his surrogate family. Along the way, the group flees from one place to another as they deal with loss and betrayal, even at the hands of fellow Indigenous peoples. However, hope remains as Frenchie reunites with his father (though Frenchie chooses to stay with Rose), and Miig reunites with Isaac. 

Although the novel is a work of fiction, it parallels some of the very real consequences of colonialism, the abuse of power, and the potential for the carelessness of humanity to destroy the world. It is a poignant and timely cautionary tale against exploiting the environment and the Indigenous community.