“Some days I wish he could speak, but there’s something nice about having a friend who never talks back, who’s always forced to listen.” 

When Annie meets Gordon and learns that he can’t speak, this doesn’t inhibit them from communicating and having a relationship. Gordon’s silence allows Annie to trust and know him on a deeper level more quickly than if he spoke.

“In my waking world, I was not worthwhile. I hadn’t been for years. Booze will do that for a man. But booze is not the root of the problem. Just a condition.” 

Will uses alcohol to escape. Since losing his family, he has abused alcohol to escape more and more. Will is aware of this physical dependency even in his dream state

“In their lives, they’ve gone from living on the land in teepees and askihkans, hunting, trapping, trading in order to survive, to living in clapboard houses and pushing squeaky grocery carts up and down aisles filled with overpriced and unhealthy food.” 

White Europeans had a detrimental influence on indigenous culture. The theme of colonization is present throughout the novel, which shows the harm that everything from alcohol to poverty to heart disease brought to a culture previously unaware of these ails.