Hunting by Stars Expository Paragraph
The book “Hunting by stars” by Cherie Dimaline takes place in a dystopian world where recruiters hunt indigenous people for their bone marrow. This story is set in Canada, year 2050. The environment the story takes place in, has been heavily affected by pollution. “Trash in the oceans was beached in tall waves, leaving shadows and holes.” (Pg.4). Themain theme of this book is colonialism and showcases the impact of the residential schools on the indigenous lives. The colonizers treat the indigenous in an inhumane way the few indigenous people like animals rather than equals. “They saw us know for what we were: dreamers, providers, fuel.” (Pg.5). This connects to how indigenous people were treated within residential schools. Colonizers believed that they were doing them a favour. They believe that their way was the correct way and that they had to “help” the indigenous by any means necessary. The main character within this novel is Frenchie. He is a brave and selfless character, who constantly thinks of his family before himself. This quote represents him best; “Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you’re not the one who’ll be alive to live it.” The characters in “Hunting by Stars” face many challenges within the novel. French is first captured by the recruiters and taken to the residential school, an institution where they harvest indigenous peoples bone marrow and given to dreamless peoples. There they are treated like animals. “We’re the supply” (pg.72) was what French said when we realized what the people at the institution truly viewed them as. Rose decides to look for French, accompanied by Derrick. The rest of the family begin searching as well. They are met with many difficulties on the way such as recruiters, the blood cult, and the land itself. French joins the institution. Mitch and French are sent out on a mission to capture some more people. They use the chance to escape, but French ends up killing Mitch for he risked the safety of his family. The family end up escaping, unfortunately, a few died. I connected this book to things many things I learned about residential schools within our world and found many similarities which shocked me. This novel helped me realize that colonizers didn’t even view indigenous as humans.
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