Nanabush
Nanabush, who is described by Tomson as "pivotal and important a figure in the Native world as Christ is in the realm of Christian mythology,"[4] is a central and symbolic character in the play. He is seen as an influence when he states, "He says we mustn't take everything so seriously all the time. He says we must laugh, and laugh some more." Although he is specifically played by a male actor in the Rez Sisters, Tomson switches the gender in Dry Lips, noting that Nanabush is traditionally dual-gendered.[5] The character is present in both scenes of joy (Marie-Adele and Zhaboonigan innocently playing), and of anguish and despair (Zhaboonigan describing her rape, the women fighting, Marie-Adele collapsing, dying). He is seen as more than human, perhaps as human, item, and being, described as such, "Nanabush is in everything. The wind, the trees, the animals. He's always watching, always listening," and "Nanabush, he's like the wind. You can't see him, but you can feel him." These appearances possibly speak to the understanding of Nanabush as an apathetic deity, reinforcing the ending of the play: circular (Pelajia is once more on her roof), and without resolution. Nanabush, who ‘appears’ in bird form, is only seen as "the spirit inside" by Marie-Adele (who is close to death), and Zhaboonigan (who has a mental handicap), perhaps speaking to the relegation of this deity to the margin in the Aboriginal community.
Rape/ Screwdriver
In the play, the details of Zhaboonigan's sexual assault - including her being abducted and attacked with a screwdriver - closely parallel the details of the 1971 murder of Helen Betty Osborne of Norway House, Manitoba. Despite overwhelming physical evidence — blood, hair and clothing fragments were found in one of the suspects' cars — it was not until 1987, a year after The Rez Sisters opened, that two out of the three suspects in Osbourne's murder were charged. Highway's deeply sympathetic character, Zhaboonigan, can be seen as a statement against the injustice inflicted upon Osborne.
