Describe Niska’s memories of her father and his storytelling ability.

Niska spent her young adulthood living alone in the forest. She had an intense romance with a white French hunter, but ultimately he betrayed her. After this, Niska completely isolated herself, only occasionally visited by other bush Indians who request her divining skills. Rescuing Xavier from the residential school, raising him and teaching him the secrets of the hunt, and meeting his friend Elijah all brought joy into Niska’s life. When they left, she braved the hostile white-dominated town of Moose Factory to hear news of their fate. In the three-day journey that serves an anchoring point of the narrative, Niska retrieves a wounded Xavier from the train station. She paddles them back to her home in the bush, nourishing Xavier both physically and emotionally with stories from her past. By the end of the novel, her struggle to keep her nephew alive reaches a powerful conclusion.