How is the Ojibwe reservation portrayed in the novel, The Painted Drum?

The reservation is described as stark, bleak, and cold, features typical of its brutal and sometimes unforgiving midwestern setting. It is also not portrayed as an especially affluent area, with many of its residents struggling to make ends meet or living in relatively humble homes. However, it is also described as extremely beautiful and organic, and, as in Stiles and Stokes, much attention is called to the interplay between the nature and wildlife and the human inhabitants.