Bears are symbols of strength, vitality, and self-reliance. They are important symbols in Indigenous culture because they are part of both the natural and cosmological worlds. In the novel, the symbol of the bear represents the tension—and eventual resolution—of Jonny's intersectional queer and Indigenous identities. It evokes both the gay male identity of “bear,” which is a strong, husky gay man, as well as the spiritual significance of bear cubs to the Cree culture. Bear cubs represent belonging; in one passage, as a child, Jonny hangs back after baseball practice while the rest of his teammates jump on top of each other like bear cubs. In one of Jonny's more significant dreams, he is “topped” (receives penetrative sex) by a bear (animal). The bear is Jonny’s clan, and thus the symbols is tied to his sexual and Indigenous identities.

Additionally, bears recur in the novel in relation to Big Bear, or Mistahimaskwa, a historically important Cree leader who resisted Indigenous displacement. When Jonny is in Peguis and on the reservation, Jonny is terrified of coming across a real bear.