Braided hair
Throughout The Marrow Thieves, French, Rose, Minerva, and many other Indigenous characters braid their hair. The frequent imagery of braids comes to represent the characters' indigeneity, as well as their connection with their ancestors and cultural traditions. When the Recruiters capture Minerva, they cut her hair as a way of emphasizing their control over her identity; in turn, French and Rose cut their own hair to signify their mourning for Minerva.
The climate crisis
Throughout The Marrow Thieves, Dimaline uses dark, apocalyptic imagery to paint a picture of a world altered by climate change. Buildings and institutions are abandoned and windows are broken. Sidewalks are cracked and cars are burnt out. There are constant, torrential rains. "Menacing" weeds have evolved to survive without pollinators. And lakes and rivers are contaminated or dried out.
The open sky
Dimaline uses frequent imagery of the sky, stars, and the starry night sky in The Marrow Thieves. These come to represent the Indigenous group's connection with nature, as well as their capacity to dream. When the group stays at the Four Winds Resort, they feel strange being contained by walls and sleeping separately in individual rooms. They take some small comfort in the fact that there is a skylight through which the stars are visible. In other sections of the novel, French describes the vivid stars before falling asleep and dreaming under the open night sky.
North
In The Marrow Thieves, the North is depicted as a harsh, barren landscape, with sharp cliffs and black, volcanic rock. Yet Dimaline also depicts the far northern territories as a place of hope, where Native communities are said to be "tough...some of the toughest we've ever had," and where rumors indicate that they are doing "okay....Some better than okay. That's why we move north towards them now." In this way, the North becomes the goal and motivation for the group's difficult journey. It also represents their hope for a better future.
