Miig's Leadership Analysis in The Marrow Thieves Essay Sample

Miig and his friends are on a journey to avoid being recruited for bone marrow harvesting. They lose some along the way, but they grow closer as friends as time goes. The capacity to lead a group is a valuable characteristic because it is required for success. Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves suggests that Miig’s leadership skills is what allows for the Indigenous group to survive, which shows his importance as an integral member for keeping the group in unison. Awareness, reassurance and wisdom are key components of being a good leader.

To begin with, a competent leader, like Miig, has a high level of awareness. "Tomorrow [they] turn east, northeast. For a bit, anyway. There might be more people up that way. Seems like the forest fires are in the west" (Dimaline 109). Miig is quite aware, as evidenced by the fact that he gives recommendations on where to go and how to avoid forest fires in the west. Miig's awareness aided the group because they were aware of forest fires in the west. "None of [them] were happy. [They] wanted to stay at the lodge. It was warm and had walls and made [them] feel less in danger, less chased. Maybe that's why he wanted [them] gone so quickly, before [they] lost the wall and instinct to keep moving altogether" (92). This demonstrates Miig's desire for them to keep moving and not stay in the lodge. This is to guarantee that they do not become too accustomed to the resort. This proves that he is aware since he will not allow his family to be captured. Being aware is crucial to being a leader, so is reassuring.

Furthermore, Miig is reassuring, which is another quality that a successful leader possesses. “[They] have survived this before. [They] will survive it again. Trust that there is always someone who has taken the greater good as a mission” (33). Miig is a very reassuring person, which is a vital quality to possess in a leader because a leader's job is to lead his or her group and remove their doubts and concerns. As Miig points out, this will make the people around him feel more at ease and this will almost certainly result in them feeling more comfortable. “Exactly. [They] all do what [they] can to survive. Right now, they can chase us. And [them]? We can run” (55).  As Miig points out, this provides the group comfort as well as optimism that they will make it to the end. Reassuring others can help them win your trust, which can lead to a tighter relationship and the development of a trustworthy person in the long run. While being reassuring is an important aspect of being a leader, so is wisdom.