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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Crow Country, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Heritage and Land
Justice and Restitution
Violence and Integrity
Summary
Analysis
To everyone’s surprise, the Boort footy team wins the next game, thanks to David’s coaching. All the Boort supporters are ecstatic. After the game, Craig Mortlock comes up to Ellie, David, Sadie, and Walter, who are all in attendance. He tells David that he found some Aboriginal artifacts on his land, and he wants to know how much he could sell them for. David tells him to tread carefully—the site might be protected. Craig grows angry, saying the whole country is a sacred site. Walter says that it is, indeed, all a sacred site.
Craig’s revelation that he has discovered Aboriginal artifacts on his land suggests that he knows about the stone circle. His interest in ascertaining the value of these artifacts reveals the extent to which he is driven by money. His only interest in these artifacts seems to be what they may be worth. He does not seem to be curious about the cultural value of the artifacts and whether they truly belong to him, which again shows how casually white people in Boort are accustomed to dominating Aboriginal people.
Themes
Realizing that Lachie told Craig about the stone circle, Sadie finds him standing with his friends and confronts him. She tells him that he had promised the stone circle would be their secret. Walter follows her. Lachie tells her the stone circle isn’t hers, it’s on his family’s land—the Mortlocks have owned the land for a hundred and fifty years. Walter leads Sadie, who is crying, away.
Lachie’s assertion that the site of the stone circle belongs to his family because it is on their land shows what little regard he has for the Aboriginal claim to the land, even though this land belonged to Aboriginals long before it belonged to the Mortlocks. Indeed, the stone circle is itself a testament to this ancient claim to the land.
Themes
