Moon of the Crusted Snow

Evan decides to go to the store to stock up on milk and some other supplies. However, when he gets there, he sees the Northern Trading Post is packed with customers. He runs into Isaiah, who confirms Evan’s fear that the community is panic buying everything in sight. The town meeting the day before only increased people’s worries. When he gets inside the store, Evan sees that most of the shelves have been emptied. He is able to purchase only two cans of beans, while other customers walk out with whole carts full of supplies. Donny, the manager, tells Evan that he expects a new shipment of groceries next week. Evan returns home with his meager haul.

Two days later, Terry holds an emergency council meeting. He wants to send out another notice because he thinks another town meeting would just increase the panic. Walter suggests just telling the townsfolk to be patient and keep conserving water and power. Evan notices how fatigued the council members appear.

Joanne begins to type up the new flier, supported by her son, Tyler. Joanne has had a particularly rough time: her youngest son, Kevin, is away down south in Gibson, attending college for welding. There has been no word from him since the infrastructure shut down. Nick, the younger brother of council member Amanda Jones, is attending the same college.

The new flier asks the community to keep conserving, to use wood to heat their homes, and to check their pipes. It states that new supplies will be coming in next week, even though the council knows this is not a sure thing.

Terry begins to panic. He does not know how to reassure his community. He has an angry outburst. Evan feels himself “gravitating towards Walter, who always kept his cool and had a calming and confident demeanor” (66). Terry apologizes for losing control and dismisses the meeting. Tyler comforts Joanne, who stifles a sob. 

Nicole has a nightmare and wakes Evan up to tell him about it. In the nightmare, she, Maiingan, and Nangohns are running across “that kind of snow that’s hard on top and real powdery underneath” (69). Nicole keeps falling through the crust, and the kids keep pulling her back up. Maiingan and Nangohns reassure Nicole that they will make it. Their voices sound calm, like elders. Each time, she falls a little deeper into the snow. Finally, she feels adult hands pull her out. Nicole emerges in what appears to be a winter camp with a blazing fire. Turning to her children, she sees they are adults. They speak to her in the old Anishinaabe language, which she does not understand. Nangohns reaches out to touch Nicole’s face, reassuring her. At that moment, Nicole jolted awake.

Evan reassures her that it was just a dream, and Nicole falls back asleep. Evan, however, remembers Dan’s dream, and “his eyes stayed open in the darkness as the competing omens forced the calm from his mind and body” (70).

Snow blankets the community. Evan, Isaiah, Tyler, and the other band maintenance workers take up their usual winter role of keeping the rows plowed. A week has passed since the store closed; without regular routine, the days begin to slip by. On their break, Evan, Isaiah, and Tyler smoke cigarettes and share a small bottle of rye whiskey to keep warm. They joke about the end of the world as the faint sound of snowmobiles approaches.

The three friends watch the snowmobiles approach, wary but curious. Nobody has arrived from the outside world since the onset of winter. The drivers arrive and dismount; Tyler is astonished to see his own little brother, Kevin. Kevin is accompanied by his best friend, Nick Jones. Fear grips Evan. He knows that the arrival of the two young men is a bad sign.

Nick tells them that they had to leave their college in Gibson. The cities in the south are experiencing the same infrastructure outages as the reservation. People in Gibson have taken to rioting and looting. Kevin and Nick stole the snowmobiles from their school and barely escaped.

Evan suggests that the young men should go see their families, but secretly, to avoid inciting even more panic in the community. Evan will alert Terry of the situation in private. Kevin leaves with Tyler and Nick with Isaiah.

Terry calls a private council meeting to hear Kevin and Nick’s story. He invites them to take their time telling their story to the tribal leaders.

The blackout hit when Kevin was in his basement shop class. After the instructor dismissed the class, Kevin went to check on Nick at the dorms. There was much confusion; none of the students’ card keys worked to allow them into the dorms. The young men went into town the next day, where the situation was rapidly degenerating. People assembled at gas stations and grocery stores, angry at the lack of services.

The next two days were spent waiting. Nick and Kevin stayed together in the dormitory for safety. Provisions ran low in the cafeteria, and the students’ anxiety increased. Nick and Kevin eventually decided to look around town again; they witnessed an angry crowd break into the local supermarket. They fled back to the dorms as the scene turned violent.

As the situation continued to deteriorate, the young men formulated a plan to escape. They stashed away food and planned to steal snowmobiles from the small engines shop. They laid low in their room until early morning, ignoring the pandemonium outside, until the coast was clear to sneak out and hide their gear with the snowmobiles. When they returned to the dorms, the situation had taken a turn for the worse: a student had died. Nick and Kevin did their best to console their dorm mates, who were not from Gibson and were completely cut off from their families.

The two young men went to get the snowmobiles. The garage door was locked, busting the lock open created a commotion. Two men in heavy jackets appeared and confronted Kevin, but Nick ambushed them, smashing one in the head with a hammer. Kevin tackled the other, and Nick hit him in the head as well. Hearing this, Nick’s mother begins to cry. The boys got on the snowmobiles and rode all day, reaching the reservation that morning.

Evan smudges Nick and Kevin with sage. Terry expresses his gratitude that they are safe; he does not seem to have registered the seriousness of their situation. He asks the young men to keep their story secret until the council can formulate a plan.

Nicole is incredulous at the news that Evan brings. Evan reassures her that both their parents have enough food to last the winter; the tribal council will distribute food and run the diesel generator to keep other people safe. Nicole comments, “It feels like the end of the world” (91).

Evan holds her close. They go to the bedroom, undress, and get into bed, “taking solace in their warm pocket of sanctuary from the dangerous outside chill” (92).

in the workshop, Evan and Isaiah watch nervously as Dave Meegis pores over documents concerning energy consumption, attended by Walter and Terry. Dan and Patricia drop off a large pot of stew to thank the men for their hard work. As they eat, Dave reports his findings: The reservation has enough diesel fuel to last until the end of February; if they are conservative with their use, they might be able to extend it until March or April.

Terry recognizes that they will have to inform the community about the situation. He plans a new town meeting—this time with food. They will begin taking food from the town’s food cache, a secret stockpile of nonperishable food designed to last the community at least two years. Evan, Isaiah, and Tyler leave to plow the roads and prepare to distribute more filers.