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Summary Of The Strongest Blood By Van Camp

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The Strongest Blood: Literary Techniques

The Strongest Blood tells the story of two cousins in an Indigenous setting, living in the Northwest Territories. Anyone who has read The Strongest Blood knows how it centers in on the teachings of Indigenous peoples and the struggles and conflicts that they face involving their land, spiritual beliefs, and economy. Van Camp’s extensive use of literary techniques directs the spotlight on the two major themes of Indigeneity, and economical conflict while creating an interesting environment for the reader.
Van Camp centers his short story around the mass movement for land: ‘Idle No More’. He presents this idea as an allusion with no explanation within the text, leaving the reader to do their research if they do not already have previous knowledge. In The Strongest Blood, Van Camp redirects the character narration into digression and a flashback when the truck ride to the park is interrupted by an anecdote about an Indigenous town. It was like the town had been in hiding from its own inheritances as Aboriginal people and northerners living side by side. Someone had even spray painted, “It is time to learn from the Red Man---IDLE NO MORE! (Van Camp 36)

This paragraph is part of the digression that is present since it is moving away from the exposition of hunting grouse, and it is the first open reference towards Idle No More. Economical conflict is a very relevant and important theme in The Strongest Blood because it sets a
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