As a soldier during World War I, Elijah watches the military planes “swoop like osprey,” and he dreams of one day being able to fly.

Whereas birds represent the freedom and contentment that Elijah and Xavier experience in connection to their culture, the planes they experience as soldiers in World War I are the exact opposite.

Indeed, birds are certainly reflected in both Elijah and Xavier, which underscores the deep cultural connection between nature and the Anishnabe people.īoyden further extends the metaphor of birds and freedom to airplanes during World War I. Elijah is boastful, and he frequently tells stories, sometimes only to “hear his own voice,” much like the incessant chirping of a bird. It even seems as though he can even take different forms at will, as he is comfortable in both his Indigenous life and the wemistikoshiw ways. Elijah is a “trickster,” always looking to crack a joke, and he proves himself brave and bold during the war. Wemistikoshiw settlers saw such a trickster in the bold grey jays that stole food and “loved to hear own voice.” Elijah, too, is reflected in this description of the grey jay. In Anishnabe culture, the weesageechak is a legendary “trickster” figure who can take different forms at will.

Xavier’s last name is Bird, and Elijah’s last name, Weesageechak, is mispronounced by the wemistikoshiw as Whiskeyjack, a common name for the Canadian grey jay. Birds are symbolic of the connection between nature and the Anishnabe people in Three Day Road, and the similarities between Indigenous characters and birds highlights their cohesion with the natural world in contrast to their alienation from wemistikoshiw (European) society.

Three day road book