Oqwatnuk

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Marilla Cuthbert
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## Overview

**Oqwatnuk** is a member of the Mi'kmaq people and the mother of Ka'kwet. She is portrayed by Dana Solomon.

## Appearance and Personality

Oqwatnuk is a small, slender woman. She keeps her long hair in braids with decorative beads and feathers. She generally wears a button-down blouse and long skirt, and sometimes a traditional coat and peaked hat.

Oqwatnuk is friendly, gentle, and sensitive to others' emotions. She knows that her family's lifestyle is in jeopardy with the encroaching settlers, and believes that her children will be safer if they learn English. She develops trust for Anne, and when crisis strikes also puts her trust in Matthew and Marilla.

## Story

When the Canadian government opens a residential school in Halifax, Aluk and Oqwatnuk disagree about whether or not Ka'kwet should be allowed to go. While it may be helpful for their daughter to adapt to the changing world by learning English, Aluk is afraid that her heritage will be stripped away if she attends. After some convincing, Aluk allows his daughter to go to school. They accompany her to the train station, where she leaves for Halifax.

After months of physical abuse, isolation and ethnocide, Ka'kwet runs away from the residential school and finds her home village. It is clear to her parents that her experience was traumatic and they do not want to send her back when government authorities come back for her. Oqwatnuk is patient with Ka'kwet's emotions after her time in school, comforting her when she has moments of anger and distress. She is in the family's wigwam holding her daughter when she hears the government authorities ride into camp to abduct Ka'kwet. Oqwatnuk welcomes them and speaks to them through Ka'kwet as a translator, However, when the authorities begin trying to grab children, chaos ensues and Oqwatnuk is held at gunpoint. Coming to defend her, Aluk is shot in the arm.

Aluk and Oqwatnuk travel to Green Gables for help. They first experiences some resistance from Marilla, but Oqwatnuk is able to communicate the pain of losing a child despite the language barrier, which Marilla empathizes with. Oqwatnuk and Aluk, along with Matthew and Anne, set out for Halifax where they will get Ka'kwet back. After a long journey, the parents approach the door of the residential school and are told to leave. When Anne and Matthew approach the door, it becomes clear that Ka'kwet is being closed off and kept in school unjustly. As tensions rise, the government authorities appear again and threaten Matthew, Anne, Aluk and Oqwatnuk with guns. They are told that Ka'kwet cannot be released without the permission of the head priest, who is not there. The head priest eventually comes and tells him that their children should assimilate, and they are trespassing and will be arrested if they don't leave the school. Oqwatnuk shows brave perseverance when she encourages her husband not to give up, but keep trying until they can be reunited.

Oqwatnuk and Aluk remain camped outside the school grounds until they can get her out. Meanwhile, their home village moves closer to the coast to protect the children who have not been taken.

## Episode Appearances

**Season 3**

* Ep. 1: A Secret Which I Desired to Divine
* Ep. 3: What Can Stop the Determined Heart
* Ep. 4: A Hope of Meeting You in Another World
* Ep. 6: The Summit of My Desires
* Ep. 8: Great and Sudden Change
* Ep. 9: A Dense and Frightful Darkness

## Notes

* Oqwatnuk is in charge of the food supply for her family's camp.