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For Frenchie, his long braid is a source of pride. As far as he's concerned, it signifies his identity as an Indigenous person and within the safety of his family with Miig. The braid allows him to show off this pride and use his pride to connect with others, as when Rose fixes Frenchie's braid. Though Frenchie's thoughts are the only ones that reach the reader, he suggests that this way of thinking about hairstyles is something that extends to all of the novel's Indigenous characters. Braids are so culturally significant to the entire group that Frenchie and Rose cut off their braids and bury them with Minerva after she is killed. Despite being a point of pride, the novel also suggests that braids can open people up to danger—Travis recalls that, when Recruiters first began kidnapping Indigenous people, anyone who wore their hair in a braid (no matter how fair-haired and obviously not Indigenous they looked) was at risk of being kidnapped. This speaks to the tenuousness and the danger of being Indigenous in the novel: the very elements of Indigenous identity that should be a point of pride, from braids to language, can also make life extremely dangerous.
Braids Quotes in The Marrow Thieves
The The Marrow Thieves quotes below all refer to the symbol of Braids. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Fire
Quotes
[...] I did have the longest hair of any of the boys, almost to my waist, burnt ombré at the untrimmed edges. I braided it myself each morning, to keep it out of the way and to remind myself of things I couldn't quite remember but that, nevertheless, I knew to be true.
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Magic Words
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"How do you have language?" My voice broke on the last syllable. My chest tightened. How could she have the language? She was the same age as me, and I deserved it more. I don't know why, but I felt certain that I did. I yanked my braid out of the back of my shirt and let it fall over my shoulder. Some kind of proof, I suppose.
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Braids Symbol Timeline in The Marrow Thieves
The timeline below shows where the symbol Braids appears in The Marrow Thieves. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fire
...from the Cree lands. Frenchie is sixteen, Métis, and wears his long hair in a braid. There are twelve-year-old twins, Tree and Zheegwon, who are covered in scars, and Slopper, a...
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Magic Words
...is distraught: he feels somehow more deserving of learning language than Rose and pulls his braid out of his shirt as though it proves this. Rose snaps that Minerva knows the...
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Found
...recognizes the older man. Frenchie feels frustrated and approaches Rose. She sits Frenchie down and re-braids his hair. Frenchie happily notices that Derrick watches jealously.
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The Circle
...he sees that Rose is smiling and standing next to Derrick. Frenchie remembers that his braid is longer than Derrick's, which makes him a "better Indian."
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Kiiwen
...their captives with soup and a blanket. As they bury Minerva, Rose cuts off her braid. Frenchie does the same. It makes him feel vulnerable and increases his grief. Frenchie thinks...
(full context)
