Vol 2 No 1, 2026 Research Article
Research Scholar, Department of English and Foreign Language, Guru Ghasidas University Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/iw/v2n1/v2n114
[Article History: Received: 08 June 2026. Accepted: 04 October 2026. Published: 14 October 2026]
Abstract
This paper will explore the role of indigenous ecological knowledge as a key survival mechanism in Waubgeshig Rice’s novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow. The novel is set in a secluded community of Anishinaabe people during a sudden societal collapse. It depicts the failure of modern infrastructure and the gradual return to land-based living. Through the lives of the people, the novel depicts the gradual shift from reliance on external living to self-reliance, as informed by indigenous knowledge. Hunting, food sharing, and living in harmony with nature are not only depicted as survival mechanisms but also as reflections of indigenous culture. The study claims that the novel presents indigenous ecological knowledge as a key to living and staying alive in the body and a guide for living with integrity. The indigenous knowledge imparted by the elders is presented as a guide for a sustainable lifestyle in contrast to the exploitative tendencies that have been perpetuated by colonial and contemporary ways of life. Instead of harm and damage, the return to indigenous knowledge is presented as a key to survival and living in harmony with each other. With regard to the larger context of ecological crisis and apocalyptic literature, the study argues that the author, through the novel, presents a decolonial approach to surviving the crisis. The return to the land is not about going back into the past; it is about moving forward into one’s authentic self and freedom. The novel presents indigenous knowledge systems as a viable and sustainable approach for living with integrity in the face of ecological and social crisis.
Keywords: Indigenous ecological knowledge, survival, land-based practices, decolonization
