Moon of the Crusted Snow

Tribal leadership on the Ojibwe reservation in Rice’s novel involves a chief who is supported by the input of a close group of band council members and aided by the wisdom of the community elders. At the beginning of the novel, Terry Meegis is the chief of the community. Terry is a man comfortable with the status quo, and he is well liked by the community. People respect him for his position rather than his own qualities. However, as the winter wears on without power or connection to the outside world, Terry’s leadership is put to the test, challenged by more competent council members, such as his cousin, Walter, and by Justin Scott, whose brawn, charisma, and aptitude for violence position him as a strongman figure. Moon of the Crusted Snow reveals how leadership and society are reshaped during times of crisis, for better or worse.

Evan Whitesky is a keen observer of community politics, even though his job for the maintenance department is not a position of great authority. He begins to notice cracks in Terry’s leadership from the first town meeting following the infrastructure outages. He notes the crowd’s reaction to Terry’s explanation of the situation: “The crowd’s restlessness grew. They had come for answers and were getting very few, only directions and orders. He’s losing them, thought Evan” (57). Evan’s observation highlights the fact that an effective leader needs to have a solid contingency plan for emergencies; moreover, they need to be a figure people can look to for support in a time of crisis. Walter immediately emerges as that figure, “explaining the services that would still be operational, like ploughing, home visits for maintenance, the grocery store, and the health station for emergency medication” (57). Without directly trying to undermine his cousin’s authority, Walter emerges as the one with concrete plans and answers—an effective leader. By midwinter, the “administration had essentially dissolved, save for organizing weekly food handouts from the cache,” and people perceive “Terry and the rest of the council as the figureheads of the community” rather than real leaders (151). Walter is “the one council member most people now turned to if they need a problem solved” (151). Walter’s ability to take control through practical means demonstrates that rather than holding a symbolic position, a leader must be able to take concrete action.

In contrast with Walter, Justin Scott plays the figure of the strongman, whose emergence as a leader in the community begins when he murders Mark Phillips. Typical of a strongman political leader, Scott’s power is based on the threat of violence and untested promises. Murdering Phillips allows Scott the excuse that he is protecting the community; when Terry turns to Scott to decide what to do with the other newcomers, Evan recognizes that “Terry’s lost control. […] He just handed it over to Scott” (141). Scott abuses this control, using violence and intimidation to control not only Brad Connor and Alex Richer, but also Cam Whitesky and several others of the band. Leaders such as Scott are seductive during times of turmoil, leading with the assurance that only they can fix the problems that afflict the community. Usually these promises go untested; Scott, however, resorts to the option of cannibalism to fix the food shortage. This is unacceptable to both white and Indigenous society, resulting in Scott’s deposition: death at the hands of Meghan Connor, one of his “subjects” he intimidated and abused the most.