The natural world, both in terms of the setting and the elements, is ever-present throughout the novel. How does the way the characters relate to the environs of Aurora enhance your appreciation or understanding of the setting? How does the setting contribute to your understanding of the characters?

First off, William Kent Krueger’s descriptions of Minnesota are so poetic. I just got a sense of this wild, untamed place where the people and town of Aurora are like guests of the place. They are like a little island of people that the woods and lakes allow to be there.

Instantly, from the opening chapter, the natural world is set up as “other” and bigger than humans. Sam Winter Moon says, “There’s more in these woods than a man can ever see with his eyes, a lot more than he can ever hope to understand.” This sets up the woods as a mysterious, unknowable force. Also, right from the start, Cork and Sam are hunting a bear, but Sam teaches Cork to revere the animal despite the fact they are out to kill it. So there’s this duality of respect (and reverence at times) for the natural world but also a sense of lurking danger. This plays itself out in many ways throughout the novel.

I felt the weather, particularly the harsh winter cold, impacted the characters not only physically but on a deeper psychological level. It’s as if they are attuned to the natural world and it speaks to them. And it’s not just the Indigenous characters who have this sense of surroundings. Even Jo, transplanted from Chicago, feels it. WKK writes early on, “Suddenly, out of the cold of the storm, she felt the touch of a deeper cold on her back, as if an icy hand had reached through her coat and touched her skin.”

His descriptions of weather often portend bad news. Just before the flashback incident on the docks during the fishing rights episode WKK describes, “The sky was overcast, threatening rain. The night was very dark.”
And WKK ties the natural world into his descriptions of not just the settings. For example, he mentions rivers several times when Judge Robert Parrant’s body is discovered. First, when Paul Le Beau discovers the body – “On the wall directly back of the desk hung a map of Minnesota. Red lines like red rivers ran down the map from red splashes like red lakes.” Then, when Cork makes the same observation, he notes, “blood that ran down the map like red rivers.” This unnatural death stains the rivers and lakes red with blood. The description is both poetic and symbolic.

Then there are characters like Henry Meloux and Wanda Manydeeds who are very attuned to the natural world, being spiritual healers, and a gentler (and sometimes humorous) approach to the natural world is described.
There is also an allegorical sense of the land that WKK introduces by providing the Ojibwe stories of how the land came into existence, the crow that saves Cork, the Windigo, etc.

The characters in the book all appreciate and respect the elements, winter especially presents a strong danger to the characters that grows more threatening as the story progresses. Winter starts off as a quiet threat. Initially, we’re introduced to the two Canadian geese that are trapped by the cold and depend on Cork’s help to survive. Cork’s furnace goes out and he has to go to Jo’s home because it’s too cold to stay there. These small things show that the community has to look out for each other if they are going to survive the elements. But winter becomes its most threatening in the later half of the book. This is most clearly spelled out by Molly’s tragic death due to exposure and in the climax when Cork and Henry flee in the deep snow onto the lake to escape Sandy. Cork’s hands get frostbitten and the two are at risk of dying on the icy lake because they are exposed to attack. Thankfully, the winter snow and ice not only threatens our heroes, but also brings about the demise of Sandy.

But winter isn’t always described as threatening. It can also be healing and I felt this came across the most strongly in the last chapter. The town, the lake, and the natural world is calmer and at peace. It’s in almost every sentence. A new snowfall cleans away the dirt and heralds in a fresh, new beginning. Krueger writes, “Snow fell on Christmas morning, small flakes, which meant the snowfall would last a long time. It paved the streets and sidewalks of Aurora in trackless white and gave a fresh cover to the dirty snowbanks, like a clean comforter on an old bed. It came down straight and landed soft as dreaming.”

And when Cork visits Molly’s cabin, the natural world is in tune with Cork’s thoughts. The surroundings become like a church or silent prayer. Krueger describes snow gently covering the place on the ice where she died and “the lake wore a face of immense serenity.” Even Cork notes this: “The snow muffled every sound, reminding Cork of the way it used to be in church when he believed in God and felt reverence in the very silence of St. Agnes.” The snow flakes also become his tears: “Small flakes settled on his face and melted into drops that ran down his cheeks like tears.” And Cork looks up “He smiled upward into all that fell from heaven.” The last line is so touching as the snow “settles lightly on the shoulders of the angel” on his Christmas tree. The whole last scene is like Cork is having communion with the natural world/spiritual world. It’s a beautiful way to end the story.

“Cultural landscapes…represent the combined works of nature and man.” (Citation in a reply) That is how I see the setting in “Iron Lake” where people erect fishing huts, ski and drive on the ice, drive snow-covered and unplowed roads, navigate woods and bogs and dress for bitter cold where frostbite is a clear risk. This is both a harsh and profoundly beautiful place. Add to that picture, the Anishanaabe for whom the natural world is a sacred and spiritual place and whose oral history explains how Iron Lake was created, how their ancestors were led to this place and how the robin was created and protects their people. Navigating this environment requires individual awareness and preparation, adaptability and a willingness to look out for one another. Henry and Molly are invigorated by the setting and the elements. Cork gives Arletta his coat and escorts her home when she is wandering the streets thinking she should be Christmas shopping. An author could write a novel about embezzlement, murder and corrupt politicians and even set it in another Tribal nation but this story and these characters will only fit in this setting.

There are two levels of the Windigo. One, a story to make children behave. The second, I believe is the winter and the snow, ice and storms. Windigos only appear in winter. When I was reading about the Windigo I found this quote by Ojibwe scholar Biddy DeSanti “Conceptually, a Windigo is a person infected by a corrosive drive toward self-aggrandizing greed and excessive consumption.” The winter setting (Windigo) was within Harlan, Russell, and Sandy; each “being the ogre they killed and unable to melt the ice within.” So in a sense, they all froze to death with a lack of empathy for anyone other than themselves.