The Game of Silence

Nokomis is a secondary character who is crucial to Omakayas’s character development. As Omakayas’s grandmother, Nokomis fiercely protects the girl and teaches her about medicinal roots and plants. Nokomis believes in Omakayas and sees her for who she truly is. Without Nokomis’s influence, Omakayas would be lost in the struggle to discover her identity. Nokomis’s wisdom is integral to Omakayas’s efforts to learn about the world around her. Nokomis’s face is described as being as “creased like the finest doeskin, and her smile created a fan of pleasant wrinkles. Nokomis’s deep eyes searched out and saw everything” (100). Nokomis is characterized as wise through the physical imagery of her wrinkles, which symbolize a long life lived with love. Nokomis is also characterized as deeply compassionate. Nokomis’s presence provides a safe space for Omakayas, who looks up to her grandmother and admires her genuine character, her deep stores of knowledge, her patience, and her kindness.

Angeline and Pinch are Omakayas’s surviving older sister and younger brother. Together, they all form a close-knit family, even though they challenge one another as siblings typically do. Angeline is at the cusp of a profound change in her life. She is in love with Fishtail and is ready to marry him and start a family of her own. Angeline is a reluctant mother figure to Omakayas, but Omakayas often sees her as bossy or judgmental. Because Angeline is preparing herself mentally and emotionally for adulthood and her own motherhood, she is trying to figure out who she is, and she wishes to separate herself from her role as Omakayas’s big sister. Although Angeline demonstrates kindness to her sister, such as using her own earnings to make Omakayas a new dress, Angeline has sorrows and internal conflicts of her own. Angeline and Omakayas are greatly separated by their age difference, for while Angeline is preparing herself for the responsibilities of marriage, Omakayas is still free of adult responsibilities. Additionally, with her worries over the absence of Fishtail, Angeline has a more personal connection to the broader conflict with the white people because she knows that Fishtail’s life is threatened.

Pinch is at the opposite end of the ladder of responsibilities. As the youngest sibling, he spends his days playing war and teasing Omakayas. Omakayas is taking her first steps toward adulthood, but Pinch is still young enough to be free of worries about his identity and future. Because of their age difference, Omakayas often finds Pinch annoying. Even so, Pinch is a loving brother who reminds Omakayas of The Supportive Influence of Family. Their close bond is also strengthened by their shared experiences of grief, for they lost their younger brother to smallpox. The presence of Pinch, however annoying he can be at times, is a reminder to Omakayas of the importance of loving her family unconditionally.

Old Tallow is an Ojibwe elder. She is a highly respected leader and warrior who braves all the elements to protect her tribe. She is wise, dependable, and courageous, and her connection with her dogs stands as evidence that she is a trustworthy person. Omakayas reveres Old Tallow and eagerly works to earn her approval and respect. Old Tallow helps Omakayas to learn that even her idols are human beings. When Old Tallow is injured by frostbite, her “gaze became blazingly fierce and Omakayas saw one—just one—tear spring from the corner of the woman’s eye” (183). This tear symbolizes Old Tallow’s vulnerability. She has worked for years to become a leader, but even leaders need help, compassion, and sympathy. Old Tallow is a role model for Omakayas in her courage and fortitude and also in her multi-layered persona.

Deydey and Yellow Kettle are Omakayas’s parents. Supportive and generous, they love their family fiercely, and this love is the glue that holds the family together in the most challenging times. Deydey is a role model who shows his children how to protect and preserve Ojibwe culture in the face of overwhelming white domination. He is friendly with Father Baraga, but he refuses to convert to Catholicism. Deydey raises Omakayas to mirror his curiosity about the world but to remain careful. Through his example, Omakayas learns to guard her own values against outside influences.

Yellow Kettle is a pillar of strength for the family. She readily adopts Bizheens, which highlights both her grief over her dead child and her capacity for unconditional love. By adopting Bizheens, Yellow Kettle demonstrates that the Ojibwe tribes (and, by extension, all Indigenous American tribes) cannot be easily defeated because they will help one another to endure and persevere.

Yellow Kettle and Deydey have a close relationship, which provides a model for their children of how to love and be loved. When Deydey goes away to help Father Baraga, Yellow Kettle misses him fiercely but maintains a brave front for her family. This characterization of Yellow Kettle as brave but capable of deep concern highlights the fact that courage can be found in fear, not just in the absence of fear.