In the novel “Bad Cree”, Mackenzie (the main character) is a clear example of an unreliable narrator. There are multiple examples in the novel that prove why she is an unreliable narrator. For instance: “I know it was there, in my hand. As real as the floor still against my cheek, I was holding a crow’s head when I woke up. I can still smell the blood in the bedroom air and feel where its beak pressed into my palm, right above my heart line. Throbbing and hot.” (Johns 2) Mackenzie provides us with a vivid and disturbing experience, claiming that she woke up with a crow's head in her palms. However, if we apply the context of an unreliable narrator, it suggests the reader to approach it with uncertainty. Mackenzie’s claim to have held a crow’s head in her hand questions the logical reality, raising doubts about whether she is a trustable character. Additionally, this quote inherently occurs in the opening of the novel. It plays a fundamental role for us readers to question the reliability of the main character from the start of the novel.
Bad Cree starts off in a dream, where the main character Mackenzie is in a dream, and her dead sister Sabrina is laying there on the ground in front of her. She runs closer so she can properly examine her body, but then a flock of crows start flying in to attack the corpse. Mackenzie tries her best to defend the dead body, but as soon as she kills a crow by snapping its neck, she wakes up from the dream. In an attempt to seek comfort, Mackenzie consults her friends at work for advice on what to do next, as these dreams are unusual and distressful.
Every night, Mackenzie has this one recurring dream where her family is at a lakefront’s campsite, which is when her sister Sabrina dies. She can’t remember too much from the incident, as she is clouded with guilt and trauma, but the dreams persist to uncover different parts about the night. Then, she gets a text message from an unknown number (connection) threatening her claiming to be Sabrina. All of this overwhelms her, making her resort to going back home with her family to seek help from the only place she knows will believe her. Their relationship between her and her family is fragile as Makenzie has not been back home ever since Sabrina died, which was like a few years ago, which only proves to make the dreams feel more intense and dangerous. The dreams eventually reveal the part where the Wendigo takes over Sabrina’s body, eventually telling Makenzie how it’s too late.
The main conflict of the story is between Makenzie and the Wendigo, which represents the trauma of the past coming back to haunt them. Originally, the crows seemed to be against Makenzie, but later on we find out that’s not the case.
After a long debate, Mackenzie along with her other sister Tracey, and her cousin Kassidy run to where Makenzie saw the Wendigo, the lake by the forest. As they go near the lake, the Wendigo draws Makenzie into the water by appearing as Sabrina, Mackenzie almost drowns when Kassidy pulls her away from the Wendigo reminding her of Sabrina's death. Then, Tracey wanders off due to the Wendigo’s influence who has found another target who is alone. Mackenzie and Kassidy find Tracey as the Wendigo tries to lure her in by appearing as Sabrina once again, they both face trouble, but eventually get through to Tracey telling her it’s not real. Once they're all free of the Wendigo’s illusions, Mackenzie grabs Tracey’s bag and searches for her auntie’s silver buck knife. With all of her might, she takes the knife and thrusts it deep into Wendigo's chest. The crows that have been following Mackenzie around take away the Wendigo's body, and the buck knife.
They travel back in silence to their mother’s house, shocked at what they had just witnessed. Once they reach home, they go inside and tell everyone what had just happened in the woods. Then, Mackenzie calls her friends back in Vancouver telling them what happened and got them up to date with all the recent events, and the Wendigo cut off communication from Mackenize’s phone. Later that evening, she falls asleep, only to meet her grandmother in her dreams. Her grandmother then tells her thateverything in the afterlife is fine, her sister Sabrina is doing good, and how she misses everyone.
Afterward, Mackenzie starts to pack up to go back to Vancouver, with help from her mother. She finally has made amends with her family after abandoning them for a while. Her whole family then gets together for a farewell dinner, in which Mackenzie gets a final chance to bond with her family before she sets off.