"Sometimes the path in front of you alters. Sometimes it foes through some pretty dark territory. Just make sure it doesn't change the intent of the trip."
Most of the Indigenous characters in The Marrow Thieves have experienced significant trauma yet follow a specific path out of it. On the broadest level, they are persecuted for being Indigenous. Many have experienced physical and sexual violence and have lost their loved ones. These terrible, traumatic experiences have left lasting psychological and physical impacts on the characters' day-to-day lives. Moreover, the novel tracks how trauma does not only happen on the individual level but is also transmitted from generation to generation. Many characters, including Miig, French and Rose, have heard stories of their families' histories in Canada's residential boarding school system. These schools tore Native children from their families and prohibited them from speaking their languages or practicing their cultural traditions. Physical and sexual abuse was also common, and the characters are still dealing with the legacies of these traumas, generations later.
