Far North

Raymond Providence is Gabe’s roommate and eventual best friend. In the beginning of the book, Gabe learns that Raymond is his roommate because they have the same birthday. Their friendship starts off slowly since Raymond spends most of his time with the other native students. Raymond is deeply unhappy at the Yellowknife school. Even when Gabe and Raymond bond over playing hockey, Raymond struggles to want to stay. He doesn’t even tell Gabe that he dropped out of school, meaning that Gabe wouldn’t have found out if he wasn’t going on the plane ride with Clint.

Although Raymond is a member of the Dene tribe, he speaks very little Slavey and does not know a lot about how to survive in the wild. Being stranded with his great-uncle Johnny Raven in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories ends up being an opportunity for Raymond to learn more about his culture. Raymond messily translates Johnny’s Slavey into English and feels pride about what he learns from Johnny. When Raymond and Johnny work together to hunt the beavers in Chapter 13, Raymond feels a shared sense of pride with Johnny because Raymond was able to do something the people of his tribe have been doing for many years.

Raymond’s journey to survive created a new understanding of his cultural background for him. With the help of Johnny’s knowledge and Johnny’s letter, Raymond was able to feel a greater connection to the Dene people and the land of the Northwest Territories. He feels like he now understands his place in his tribe, especially as a young person. Raymond needs to bridge the gap between the elders like Johnny Raven and the future to save the land of his people.

Johnny Raven is the reason for Gabe and Raymond’s survival. He is a respected Dene elder who speaks the native language Slavey and a small amount of English. Gabe meets Johnny when Johnny is being transported back to Nahanni Butte after being in the hospital. Johnny grew up in the Northwest Territories and has a vast knowledge of how to survive in the cold. He knows how to build shelters and fires, as well as how to hunt for different kinds of meat. Johnny is Raymond’s great-uncle, and Johnny thinks it is important to pass as much of his knowledge down to Raymond. Although Johnny never admits it to Raymond and Gabe, he knows that he is old and that he will die soon. He simply hopes that he can help Raymond and Gabe survive the winter first.

After Johnny’s death, Gabe and Raymond find a letter written in his jacket pocket. The letter is written down by his nurse from the hospital who was able to translate Johnny’s Slavey language into English. In the letter transcribed in Chapter 14, Gabe and Raymond learn about how Johnny grew up and how he is worried about the future of the Dene people. He is concerned about the loss of the Slavey language and how that creates misunderstandings between the younger and older tribe members. Johnny stresses the importance of the land and the old stories, which shows the love and respect he has for his culture and his people. At the end of the novel, when the Dene tribe hears Raymond read the letter aloud at the potlatch honoring Johnny’s life, Johnny’s words prove why so many people of the Dene tribe revered him.