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One of two powerful, central mother figures in the novel, Marie changes dramatically from the teenager in 1934 (“Saint Marie”) to the older wife who lives in the reservation’s Senior Citizen home in 1984. She appears in more than half of the stories in the novel and narrates several. Marie grows up in a poor Chippewa family and only comes into town to attend Mass. She believes that the Church will lift her up: “I was that girl who thought the black hem of her garment would help me rise.” Marie chooses to attend school there, but soon she meets with opposition in the form of her cruel sponsor, Sister Leopolda. When Leopolda scalds Marie’s skin and later stabs her hand, Marie runs from the convent despite the nuns’ deification. She runs right into Nector Kashpaw, a second pivotal experience that changes her life forever. Marie loses her innocence, but gains a husband.

Biological mother to Gordie, Zelda, and Aurelia, Marie also takes in children from the reservation, including June and June’s son Lipsha, both of whom she raises as her own. She also takes care of a husband who drinks and gambles despite being intelligent and hard-working. When Nector is unfaithful to her with Lulu, Marie takes a big risk, making Nector wonder if she ever read his letter describing his intention to leave Marie for Lulu. Before this, Marie was strong and compassionate, but here, she takes the upper hand in the marriage and sticks with Nector despite his infidelity.

Despite one intimate moment with Eli, Marie remains loyal to Nector, even through his dementia. She helps him in his role as tribal leader. Marie does not hold grudges, even to Sister Leopolda whom she visits when she is dying. She is a practical woman who chooses, in the face of her husband’s infidelity and possible departure, to peel potatoes and wash and polish her kitchen floor. Marie allows Nector to return and resume their lives together, extending compassion to him in the midst of his weakness. She even extends this grace to Lulu when she cares for Lulu after her eye surgery, a final act of unfathomable kindness and forgiveness.

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