Crow Mary

Content Warning: This section discusses colonialism and colonial violence, sexual assault, alcohol addiction, and death of a loved one.

The text represents the wolfers as a symbol of the destructive and predatory nature of settler colonialism and the dog as a symbol of the Indigenous spirit of resilience. The dog emerges as a symbol of Big Cloud’s spirit. Before his death, Big Cloud tells Crow Mary that wolves are his spirit animal, a spiritual symbol that highlights Indigenous people’s formative connection with the natural world. As Big Cloud’s spirit animal, wolves are his “medicine,” and he vows never to hunt the animals again. In the text, Big Cloud suggests that hunting wolves defies the sacredness of the animal as a representation of the Indigenous spirit. Crow Mary’s vision of Big Cloud establishes the dog as a symbol in the novel. Crow Mary sees Big Cloud gifting her a white dog that signifies her “new life” with Farwell. When Farwell gives her a white dog as a present, she believes that it is “the white dog promised […] by Big Cloud” (50). As a “promise,” the white dog suggests the possibility of hope and understanding between Crow Mary and Farwell, but it also represents her connection to Big Cloud and her culture.