How do the Canadian soldiers perceive them? What aspects of their traditional ways of life affect how they perform during the war?
The oppression visited upon the indigenous First Nations people is a constant force throughout the novel, dictating the lives and experiences of all major Cree characters. The wemistikoshiw consistently exploit, betray, doubt, mock, ridicule, and distrust Cree. Niska’s father is arrested by white men who don’t take time to understand Cree culture or the underlying reasons for his murder of the cannibalistic woman. Later, after her romance with the French hunter, Niska is viciously betrayed and mocked by him. Ultimately she chooses to reject the hateful wemistikoshiw town, retreating into the bush. When she has to meet Xavier at the train station, she is frightened and confused by the relentless rush of the wemistikoshiw culture. For Elijah and Xavier, most of the soldiers around them in the war exhibit repeated racism. Officials doubt their ability, or dehumanize them to nothing but rifles firing at Germans. They must work twice as hard as white soldiers to gain recognition and reach higher rank.
