The irony of dreaming
Dreaming is a gift to the Indigenous people of North America. The gift is supposed to improve the lives of the Indigenous people. The Indigenous people are the only ones who can dream, foretell the future and predict outcomes. Ironically, the miracle of dreaming puts the lives of the Indigenous people in great danger because they become the targets of the government and other interested entities in the world. The dreams of the Indigenous people are deeply buried in their bone marrow. For the government to reintroduce dreaming in the rest of the population, the bone marrow of the Indigenous people must be harvested and used as medicine. Consequently, instead of the Indigenous people enjoying their gift of dreaming, they must hide from the government and any suspicious people.
Situational irony
There is a situational irony when Frenchie finds his elder brother in the residential school. Frenchie believes his elder brother sacrificed his life to save him when he was ten. Frenchie gives an account of how the residential schools kidnapped and killed his elder brother and the entire family. Therefore, Frenchie does not expect to see his brother alive. However, after several years, Frenchie is also kidnapped. When he is taken to the residential school, he is astonished to see his brother alive and working for the government to kidnap and kill the Indigenous people.
Betrayal
When Frenchie wakes up and finds himself in the hands of the killers, he has two options. The first option is for him to die as a sacrifice to save his new family. The second option is for Frenchie to escape and betray his family. However, if Frenchie escapes, his entire family will be killed. Ironically, Frenchie decides to run away and betray his new family. The family does not expect any member the government captures to escape. If one escapes, the government haunts the remaining family members.
