Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Literally speaking, the sign of the beaver is a scratched pattern the Beaver clan uses to mark their territory. Symbolically, though, it lets other clans know not to hunt on the land it marks. Easy enough, right? It's the equivalent of a no trespassing sign on someone's property, and Indians from other clans get the message loud and clear when they see it. The only problem—and it's a pretty important problem—is that white people don't know about the signs, and most of those who do don't give a hoot. Uh-oh…
Okay. So at least part of what the sign of the beaver symbolizes in this book is differences between white and Indian culture, and the very uncool way white folks generally interact with Indians. But let's break this symbol down piece by piece, shall we? And let's start with the beaver.
Beaver pelts were some of the most valuable skins in the fur trade, and in the story, the beavers are disappearing, thanks to over-trapping by white people. And the thing about beavers disappearing is that they tend to take their fur with them. Go figure, right? This means that Indians are losing trading power. Here's a lesson in basic economics: no money = no good. So as the beavers disappear, so do the Indians.
And that's not all. Among the American Indians, the clan signs are revered boundary laws. Case in point: When Attean sees a fox suffering in a steel trap, he refuses to save it because it's on Turtle land. Attean and his grandfather don't even like the cruel steel traps, but he's bound to follow the agreement between the clans. As for Matt however, "he couldn't understand the Indian code that left an animal to suffer just because of a mark on a tree" (13.22). Aye, there's the rub.
Matt's response shows the general attitude white people have toward Indian customs, so though Matty boy does a better job than most white folks at keeping an open mind, in this moment we are reminded that as a rule white people aren't respecting clan signs. And that means trouble for the Indians, since these signs are basically law amongst them. Pro tip about laws: If enough people don't respect them, they don't do what they're supposed to.
So the sign of the beaver symbolizes both the clan Attean comes from and the land they hunt on, but also clues us into some of the ways in which white people are threatening American Indians and their ways of doing things. It does one more thing, though, too: It reminds us that English—which Matt gives Attean lessons in—is only one language out of many. (Are you kind of excited by this idea? You'll definitely want to read what this lit professor has to say then.) And in doing so, we are subtly reminded that though Matt—a white, English-speaking male—is at the center of the book, there are plenty of other ways of doing things in this world.