Evan Whitesky is the deuteragonist, a round and dynamic character who acts as the leader of the expedition south. As a man who came of age during the collapse and the protagonist of The Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018), Evan is the important link between the pre-apocalyptic past and the uncertain future. He is defined by a sense of responsibility, both as a father and as a community leader, but he is also heavily burdened by the trauma of the violent first winter and the memory of the world that was lost. This internal conflict shapes his cautious and protective nature, particularly toward his daughter, Nangohns. His decision to unearth Justin Scott’s handguns from his backyard is a symbolic act: It shows his willingness to confront the ghosts of his past and wield the violent tools of a fallen world to protect his people’s future, even if it means re-engaging with a painful history.

Throughout the journey, Evan functions as the sacrificial bearer of the old world’s trauma, a contrast to his daughter’s forward-looking perspective. While Nangohns sees zhaawnong as a place of potential and renewal, Evan is acutely aware of the dangers it holds, having lost friends and family to previous expeditions. This makes him hesitant and often reliant on the collective wisdom of the group, rather than asserting autocratic control. His leadership is collaborative and humble, but his spirit is weary. The discovery of Isaiah’s and Kevin’s trail markers and the later confirmation of their fate weigh heavily on him. His role is to ensure his daughter and her generation have the chance to build the new world, and his journey is one of letting go, gradually ceding leadership to Nangohns as her confidence and vision grow stronger.

Evan’s death is the ultimate sacrifice, a moving and necessary conclusion to his arc. Fatally wounded by a Disciple’s stray bullet, he dies just as he reaches the shores of his ancestral homeland, fulfilling his mission but not living to see its full fruition. His final dream of leaping across the islands of the great lake is a powerful vision of reunion with his ancestors and the spiritual success of their journey of The Reversal of Colonial Displacement. His passing marks the definitive end of an era, leaving the future securely in the hands of Nangohns and the next generation, who are now free to build a new life unburdened by the weight of his traumatic memories. His life is a bridge that allows his people to cross from a violent past into a hopeful future.

Tyler is Evan’s best friend and a member of the expedition, functioning as a source of stability. A round but largely static character, his primary role is to support Evan’s leadership and provide a pragmatic, often humorous, counterpoint to the group’s anxieties. Having survived the initial collapse alongside Evan, he shares an unspoken understanding of the past but is less visibly burdened by its trauma. Tyler’s steadiness and easygoing nature help maintain morale during the arduous journey.

He is also driven by a personal motivation: the hope of finding his younger brother, Kevin, who disappeared on a similar journey years earlier. This personal stake adds depth to his character, but he does not let his grief overshadow his duty to the group. When Linda confirms that Kevin and Isaiah passed through Saswin but continued south, Tyler processes the news with a quiet sorrow that emphasizes his maturity. He remains a pillar of strength, helping Evan make difficult decisions and mediating conflicts, such as when Cal’s impulsiveness creates tension. His final farewell to the dying Evan, where he expresses the “honour of [his] life to know [Evan]” (293), solidifies his role as the keeper of his friend’s memory and a steadfast guardian for the surviving members of the group.

Cal is a young hunter who embodies the complex position of his generation: fully adapted to life in the bush but still connected to the losses of the world before. A round, static character, he is primarily driven by the desire to complete the mission his older brother, Isaiah, started. This motivation makes him brave and eager, but he is also impulsive and occasionally confrontational, particularly in his interactions with Zhaabdiis. Cal often is a voice for the group’s more immediate fears and curiosities, blurting out questions that others are too cautious to ask.

His character highlights the different ways trauma is processed. While Evan carries it silently, Cal’s is more external, manifesting as a restless energy and a deep-seated suspicion of outsiders. His initial excitement about forgotten pre-collapse luxuries like pizza gives way to a hardened realism as the group encounters the dangers of the south. Though less of a natural leader than Nangohns, his loyalty and skill as a hunter are unquestionable, making him an essential, if sometimes volatile, member of the party.

Amber is the group’s medicine keeper and midwife, representing the continuity of Anishinaabe knowledge and healing traditions. As a round, static character, she is a grounding force, providing both physical and spiritual care for her companions. Her expertise in harvesting and preparing medicines from the land is a practical manifestation of her community’s sustainable relationship with the environment. She is pragmatic and deeply compassionate, often acting as a calming influence on her partner, Cal, and the rest of the group.

Her moment of despair in the ruins of Gibson, when she wants to turn back, is a significant point in the narrative, articulating the collective trauma of confronting the full scale of the world’s collapse. However, inspired by Nangohns’s speech, she rediscovers her resolve. Her role becomes especially important after J. C.’s accident and Evan’s fatal injury, where she steps in as the primary healer. Amber’s quiet strength and unwavering commitment to her community’s well-being make her an anchor of stability and hope.

J. C. acts as a mentor and the keeper of oral tradition for the group. He is a static, round character whose wisdom connects the walkers to the deeper history and spiritual knowledge of their ancestors. Through his stories, such as the cautionary tale of the man who drowned in the river, he imparts important lessons about respecting the land and understanding their place within it. He is the oldest member of the expedition, and his presence provides a sense of experience and authority that balances Evan’s more immediate, pragmatic leadership.

His tragic death is a turning point in the novel. After his leg is severely broken in a fall, he recognizes he will become a burden that jeopardizes the entire mission. His decision to die by suicide is portrayed as a calculated, selfless sacrifice to ensure the survival of the others. This act emphasizes the harsh realities of their world and represents the passing of the torch from one generation of leaders to the next, leaving Evan to assume the role of the eldest.

Zhaabdiis is a dynamic and round character who embodies the moral ambiguity and brutal compromises of the post-apocalyptic world. The son of an Anishinaabe woman and a white man, Zhaabdiis’s story is one of desperate survival. Having passed as white (because of his red hair and blue eyes) to join the Disciples, a violent white supremacist militia, he serves as the walkers’ primary source of information about The Lasting Violence of White Supremacy that has persisted after the collapse. His account of his years-long journey home and his subsequent conscription into the militia makes him an unreliable narrator; the group, and the reader, must constantly question his motives and the veracity of his story.

Despite the group’s initial and lingering suspicion, Zhaabdiis proves his loyalty through a dramatic act of redemption. By turning on his former comrades and killing them to save the walkers, he makes an irreversible choice to reclaim his Anishinaabe identity. His knowledge of the Disciples’ tactics becomes important to the group’s survival. Ultimately, he is killed by another Disciple, sacrificing his life to protect the people he has chosen as his own, but he does so in a moment of claiming his identity. His tragic arc highlights the complex nature of identity and the possibility of finding redemption even after making harrowing choices to survive.

Nicole is the matriarchal anchor of the Whitesky family and a spiritual guide for her community. Although she remains in Shki-dnakiiwin, her presence is felt throughout the narrative. Her prophetic dream gives her granddaughter, Waawaaskone, her name and foretells a hopeful future, providing a foundational spiritual purpose for the community’s endurance. As a keeper of medicine knowledge, she represents the continuity of Anishinaabe tradition. Her appearance in the Epilogue, living on the shore of the great lake with a 12-year-old Waawaaskone, provides the novel’s resolution, confirming that the sacrifices made during the journey were successful and that their people have secured their future in their ancestral homeland.

Walter is the community’s eldest and most respected leader at Shki-dnakiiwin. Functioning as a mentor archetype, he is the catalyst for the entire narrative. It is his spiritual guidance and historical knowledge that prompts the quest south. In a meeting, he articulates the necessity of leaving their current settlement, framing the journey as a moral and spiritual imperative to reclaim their ancestral territory. He explains that “Anishinaabek were meant to move” (24), and it is time to reverse the historical displacement their people suffered. His wisdom provides the foundational purpose that guides the walkers throughout their journey.

The Anishinaabe people living on the island, represented by leaders like Ogimaa, Noodin, and the scouts, Anakwad and Giizhik, are the realization of the walkers’ hope. Their thriving, multi-community society confirms that other Anishinaabe groups have survived and successfully established a new way of life rooted in tradition. They function as guides and allies in the final stages of the journey, offering medical aid to Evan and providing important intelligence about the dangers posed by the Disciples. Their existence proves that the quest for Wiigwaaswaatigoong was not a fantasy, and their welcoming of the northern community fulfills the promise of finding a true, safe home.