In Moon of the Crusted Snow, an isolated First Nation community survives a harsh winter by reconnecting with their traditional knowledge of the land. When a mysterious blackout occurs during a harsh winter, members of a remote Anishinaabe reserve suddenly find themselves without the modern conveniences they’ve come to rely on in recent years. The community soon realizes the blackout is widespread, ongoing, and it’s debilitated nearby towns and cities (which have devolved into chaos). So, the Anishinaabe commit to maintaining their traditional way of life for good, believing it will best facilitate their long-term survival. Through the Anishinaabe’s dramatic lifestyle shift, Rice emphasizes that technology-dependent living is unreliable because technology can fail. Rice also implies that such lifestyles exploit the Earth’s natural resources and may one day deplete them, unlike the traditional Anishinaabe way of life. To Rice, humanity would do better to embrace simple living—the Earth’s natural ecosystem already provides all we need to survive, if we don’t exploit it.

Dependence on modern conveniences leaves people ill-equipped to survive in the natural world—which is a mistake, because technology is fallible. Many young adults in the story embody technology-dependent lifestyles centered on television, video games, and amenities like grocery stores, leaving them practically and emotionally unprepared for coping with life without these luxuries. Rice compares the story’s protagonist Evan with his younger brother Cam, noting, “When Evan had been out on the land learning real survival skills with his father [Dan] and uncles as a teenager, Cam had chosen to stay behind, learning simulated ones in video games.” Cam’s lack of foresight leaves him vulnerable during the blackout, and he winds up dangerously malnourished. This suggests that technology is distracting and potentially dangerous, because it takes time and energy away from learning survival skills that prove essential in a crisis. Evan’s extended family easily adapts to life without cell phones and internet by reverting to the “moccasin telegraph” (walking to others’ homes and sharing updates in person, just as they did for years before the reserve went on the grid). However, students in a dormitory in Gibson (300 kilometers south) quickly become demoralized without phones, internet, or news about the blackout. Within a few days, several students wander into the snow and die. Technology offers instant gratification, which weakens patience and emotional coping skills—a death sentence for young people who are overly dependent on their phones and computers.

Rice also suggests that living simply, in equilibrium with the land (as First Nations cultures advocate) is a more viable approach to long-term survival than a fragile, technology-dependent infrastructure. The Anishinaabe way of life centers on connecting with nature and replenishing everything taken from the land to avoid wasteful use of the Earth’s resources. They also tell stories to entertain, bolster emotional resilience, and teach survival skills. Unlike modern technology, these customs don’t demand complex external infrastructure that exploits (and may eventually deplete) the Earth’s resources. For example, Dan’s traditional story about a mythical indigenous figure named Nanabush warns about the dangers of being “greedy” and taking too much food from the land. The story suggests that humanity should strive to keep the Earth’s natural ecosystem in balance so that it continues to provide in the future, thus facilitating our long-term survival. Dan’s story is also funny, so it entertains Evan’s family and lifts their spirits. They’re able to cope emotionally during long, dark winter nights without relying on technology or a complex urban infrastructure—unlike the students in the dormitory, who are at a total loss without electricity. Humanity’s over-reliance on technology—and the complex infrastructure it requires—is therefore limiting. The Anishinaabe way of life—living in balance with the natural environment rather than exploiting it—is a more reliable way to facilitate humanity’s long-term survival.