As Long as the Rivers Flow Tracking Marthas Struggles

Chapter & Page

Reference
Ch1 page 1112

Major Life Event

Marthas last
summer on the
reserve before
school

Ch 2

Martha arrives at
Residential
School

Ch3

Martha is
molested at
Residential
School
Martha gets
pregnant

Ch 4

Ch 4
Ch 4

Marthas father
dies
Martha becomes
estranged from
her mother

Ch 4 page 77

Martha loses her

son (taken away
by Childrens
Aid)

Ch 5

Suicides of teens
(residential
school survivors)

Explanation & Effects on Martha (implications,

emotional changes, etc.)
-Martha enjoyed a happy childhood up until
age 5
-Her summer days were spent playing with
other children, sometimes being cared for by
other adults on the reserve, and always ending
up safe and secure at home with her family
every evening
-Flown to James Bay (600 miles away), when
she is only 6 years old
-cannot understand the pilot
-screams during the flight, has nightmares
-doesnt understand what has happened to her
-learns to cope by escaping to her
imagination (retreats into her own daydreams,
which the nuns mistake as obedience and
acceptance)
-Father Antoine takes an interest in Martha
-Calls her to his office
-Molests her, but tries to make it better by
sending her off with candy
-Martha starts hanging out with a group of
residential school survivors who drink
frequently
-She meets Russel, who encourages her to
drink for the first time
-She ends up getting pregnant by Russel
-Continues to drink while pregnant
-This is not dealt with heavily in the novel
-Martha is not caring well for Spider (her son)
-She continues to drink, the shack is in
disrepair
-Her mother tries to get her to change, but she
refuses
-Childrens Aid comes to take Spider out of the
house, claiming that he is being neglected and
that the living conditions are not fit for the
child
-Martha is told that she will never know where
her child has been taken and will never see
him again (she has no legal rights to him
anymore)
-teens feel like they no longer have their
culture and that they dont fit in anywhere,
which is leading to a number of suicides

Ch 5

Russell returns
and Martha gets
pregnant a 2nd
time

Ch 5

Marthas
daughter is born,
but Martha
leaves her with
her mother to
move to Toronto

Ch 6

Martha leaves
for Toronto

Ch 7

Martha searches
for Spider

among teens living on reserves (teens who

have gone to residential schools)
-Russell has been gone for 15 years, but when
he comes back, Martha agrees to let him stay
in her home with her mother.
-The first few days go well, but then Russell
returns to his old ways
-Martha kicks him out, and he ends up getting
arrested
-Martha finds out she is pregnant
-Martha has a daughter in late summer, names
her Raven
-She decides it is best that she leave the baby
with her mother and move to Toronto to look
for Spider and start a new life
-She tells her mother that she will return for
the baby as soon as she is settled
-Martha doesnt get much time with her
daughter (her mother assumes most of the
responsibility, as she doesnt want Martha to
get too attached).
-Martha takes the night shift, caring for the
baby at night
-She leaves for Toronto, and her mother finally
tells her that she missed her all those years
that she was away at Residential School
-This chapter deals with Spider and his life in
the city (Toronto)

As Long as the Rivers Flow Tracking (Minor) Characters

Chapter & Page
Reference
Ch1 page 13

Name of
Character
The Indian Agent

Ch1 page 16

Chief of Cat Lake

Description of character, connection to Martha,

attitudes, beliefs, etc.
-Visits Cat Lake annually to bring treaty money
to the reserve from the government
-red-head, mid 40s, pale blue eyes
-a nervous type of fellow
-a good manager, drill-sergeant in army
-believes hes not prejudiced towards First
Nations people
-took the job as Indian agent to become a
federal worker, which was a step-up from his
role with the army
-never actually fought overseas, always
stationed in Canada away from the fighting
-explains to the Chief that no one in Ottawa
believes in the treaties anymore, so nothing
will change
-respectful towards Indian Agent and Mounties,

Reserve

Ch 2 page 2526

Pilot

Ch 2 page 29

Sister Angelica

Ch 3

Father Antoine

Ch 3

Little Joe

but also frustrated as he feels that the treaty

is being ignored (big companies are being
allowed on the land to take resources
lumber, mining resources, etc.)
-asks the Indian Agent to take his concerns to
Ottawa
-still provides gifts to the agent and Mounties,
as that is their custom (despite his
frustrations)
-his job is to fly children from First Nations
reserves to Residential School
-served in armed forces (air force)
-a charter pilot prior to getting work with the
government
-married to a Metis woman, their 6 kids attend
school in a predominantly white community
-while he believes it is wrong to take children
away from their families, he feels he has to
make a living
-he tries to console Martha somewhat during
the plane ride, but the language barrier
prevents any communication
-a First Nations woman, tall, broad shoulders,
wide hips
-was beaten by her own parents (to teach her
obedience)
-was quiet and appeared devout while she
went through Residential School, so the nuns
encouraged her to become a nun herself
-her goal is to find other potential nuns from
among the native students
-wanted to be seen as the same as the other
nuns, so she would also beat the children
(same as the other nuns)
-likes the Montreal Canadiens
-Likes to dance with the ladies at church
dances
-proud of his personal library
-starts molesting girls at a young age
-all incidents are covered up, but he is moved
to the remote Indian Residential School to
avoid being arrested
-attempts to stop, but eventually begins
molesting girls again
-Takes an interest in Martha
-Marthas cousin
-Her aunt asks Martha to watch out for him
-She gets in trouble for trying to help him
-He cannot cope at school (older kids steal his

Ch 4

Russell

Ch 4

Joshua

Ch 5

Marthas mother

Ch 6

Yvette

Ch 7

Spider

food, so he starves to death)

-tall, solidly built
-reputation for being short-tempered
-heavy drinker
-ran away from Residential School
-father of Marthas baby
-family friend, a teacher in Thunder Bay
-well-respected in the community
-Martha turns to Joshua for advice (how to deal
with her mother and her problems
nightmares, etc.)
-Wants to raise Raven for Martha
-Encourages Martha to leave for Toronto so she
can look after the child
-Has an off and on closeness with Martha
-Finally shares some real feelings with Martha
before Martha leaves for Toronto (that she
missed her all those years she was away at
school)
-maid, blond hair, married a Native man
-not afraid to stand up for Native culture
-Spider is a punk (purple spiked hair,
piercings, steals, smokes, drinks, lives on the
streets)
-Ran away from his foster family at age 14, 16,
and 17
-Foster family called him Edward (nicknamed
Eddie) but his street friends call him Spider
-Has FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome)