Lost In The Barrens

The rifle represents the extent to which Indigenous communities have adopted Western technology. The rifle increases hunting efficiency and makes the kill more humane. It expands food stores and assists remote populations in winter survival. No matter how far into the wilderness Jamie and Awasin travel, guns are a constant.

Indigenous populations also have adopted Western clothing, language, and tools. Many Western inventions and artifacts have made their way into common usage among the southern Cree who live near The Pas’s Western culture and goods. The geographic proximity to Western communities has resulted in blended cultures. For example, the Cree wear jeans and T-shirts and speak English, and the trappers use canoes, wear furs, and eat off the land as the Cree taught them. Midway through the boys’ survival ordeal, Awasin admits he does not know how to make or shoot a bow and arrows because his people converted wholly to rifle hunting. After Jamie asks him if he knows how to make a bow: “Rather shamefacedly Awasin replied that he didn’t. ‘You see,’ he explained, ‘my people haven’t used bows for fifty years—not since they got guns. Sometimes we boys used to make them just for fun but they never worked’” (107).