District 9

Spoiler Alert! This page may contain plot details relating to Sunrise on the Reaping or unintentionally spoil elements of the book.

District 9
Industry	Grain
Victors	Female Victor Male Victor
Leader(s)	Unknown
Rebels	Unknown
Population	15,346
Tesserae	70,532
Colour	Cornflower Blue  (10th HG)  Buttery Yellow  (50th HG)  Log Cabin Green  (74th HG)
Present-day location	Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota

"District 9 is Panem's bread bowl, giving us the fertile harvest we need to keep rising as a nation. Its amber waves of grain are an inspiration to us all."

—Description from The Hunger Games: Tribute Guide

District 9 is one of Panem's thirteen districts, and its primary industry is grain production. It was known to have poor education and long hours in the grain fields.

History

Little is known of the district's role in the Dark Days, but when District 9 rebelled against the Capitol, the loss of its grain would have contributed to starvation conditions in the city while it was under siege.

50th Hunger Games

The four District 9 tributes were one of the last to join The Newcomers alliance alongside District 11, although they also refused to join the Careers. Ampert believed that they had a low opinion of him due to the boy being from District 3. After Maysilee Donner helped them following bullying from Panache Barker, the District 9 tributes finally joined the Newcomers.

Beetee Latier secretly switched out District 9's sunflower tokens for sunflower bombs, although the tributes themselves were not involved in the rebel plot. Although all four of the tributes died in the Cornucopia bloodbath, Ampert was able to retrieve two of the bombs.

Second Rebellion

One evening, the Capitol aired a live propo of Peeta Mellark, who was made to recount war damage allegedly perpetrated by rebels. This included a granary that collapsed after a fire. While there are known granaries in other places like District 8, this could have been an instance of rebellion in District 9.

Known tributes

District 9 Tributes, 74th Hunger Games

Tributes

• Sheaf - Female tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. Succumbed to injuries caused by the bombing of the Capitol Arena before the Games began, placing 17th-18th. In the film, she survived the bombing but was killed when Otto shot her in the leg and back with a crossbow, placing 18th.
• Panlo - Male tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. Succumbed to injuries from the bombing before the Games. Placed 17th-18th. In the film, he survived the bombing but was sliced in the abdomen by Tanner and speared in the chest with a trident by Coral, killing him, placing 19th.
• Ryan - Male tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. Died in the Cornucopia bloodbath.
• Kerna - Female tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. Died in the Cornucopia bloodbath.
• Clayton - Male tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. Died in the Cornucopia bloodbath.
• Midge - Female tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. Died in the Cornucopia bloodbath.
• District 9 female (74th HG) - Died in the Cornucopia bloodbath.
• District 9 male (74th HG) - Killed by Clove's throwing knife while fighting with Katniss Everdeen over a backpack at the bloodbath. Placed 24th.

Victors

• District 9 female (75th HG) - Victor of unknown Hunger Games. Killed in the bloodbath.
• District 9 male (75th HG) - Victor of unknown Hunger Games. Killed in the bloodbath.

Location and geography

According to the map of Panem featured in The Hunger Games Adventures, District 9 is located in the central area of North America, along the region known as the Great Plains. From south to north, its territory corresponds primarily to the U.S. states of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Canadian province of Manitoba, and does not neighbor District 11. District 9 is apparently very large and is among the largest, if not the largest, districts of Panem. Its territory correlates strongly with the district's industry as Panem's breadbasket, as the Great Plains region is known for its flat farmland and fields of wheat. It is mentioned that the district has many factories, most likely for processing the harvested grain.

District 9 borders six districts as well as the Capitol, the most of any district: District 6 (to the northeast), District 3 (to the east), District 8 (to the south and southeast), District 2 (to the southwest), the Capitol (to the west), District 1 (to the west), and District 7 (to the northwest). District 9 is the poorest district to share a border with the Capitol.

Katniss and Peeta encounter "fields of wheat" in one district on the Victory Tour. Since grain is such a significant part of Panem's food supply, it is logical to assume that District 9's large size and location in North America mean that its industry is solely dedicated to the cultivation of the crop, which would then be rationed throughout the country as both a food source and the production of tesserae.

Coriolanus Snow briefly observed District 9 while passing through after enlisting in the Peacekeepers on the way to District 12. He thought it an ugly place, filled with concrete buildings which were flaking paint and misery, baking in the relentless afternoon sun.

Trivia

• District 9's industry, like District 5 and 6, were not revealed in the original trilogy. However, District 9's industry in grain cultivation is hinted at through several clues:
  • The name of Panem directly comes from the Latin word for bread.
  • During the 74th Hunger Games bloodbath, Katniss grabbed a loaf of bread just before getting into a struggle over a backpack with the boy from District 9 (perhaps a subtle indicator of the district's industry).
  • During Katniss and Peeta's Victory Tour, they encountered a district comprising "fields of wheat."
  • There is an unidentified district where tributes dress up as loaves of bread.
  • A granary has collapsed under a fire during propos.
  • The industry suggests that the grain district is District 9, rather than 5 or 6, as District 10 and 11 are both agricultural districts.
• District 9 is the least-mentioned district in the Hunger Games series, and relatively little about it is known for certain. The only named characters from the district appeared outside of the initial book and film series:
  • Triti Lancaster was one of seven District Heroes featured in movie promotional portraits through Capitol Couture.
  • Panlo and Sheaf, tributes in the 10th Hunger Games, appeared in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
  • Ryan, Kerna, Clayton, and Midge, tributes in the 50th Hunger Games, appear in Sunrise on the Reaping
• Districts 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10 were not involved in the rebel plot during the third Quarter Quell.
  • District 1, District 5, and District 9 are the only districts without a known rebel, though the tributes of the 50th Hunger Games were fitted with explosives meant to detonate the arena's water tank in a rebel plot by Beetee Latier. Although all were killed in the Cornucopia bloodbath, Beetee's son Ampert was able to snag two of their explosives.
• District 9 is the only district where all tributes from the books' portrayed Hunger Games (10th, 50th, 74th, and 75th) have been killed before or during the bloodbath.
  • It's likely that District 9 overall does poorly in the Games, especially compared to its fellow agricultural Districts of 10 and 11, despite tributes working in the fields for much of their life.
• District 9 was the 5th - 10th district to pry from Capitol rule during the Second Rebellion.
• According to the Capitol.PN, District 9 has 12 mills in operation with a population of 15,346, making it the eleventh largest district, in terms of population.
  • Given its large size and correspondingly small population, District 9 is probably the least densely populated district.
• According to the Capitol.PN, District 9 claims 70,532 in tesserae, making it the fourth most impoverished district.
  • It is a very poor district, though its living conditions and Peacekeeper leniency are slightly better than District 11's.
  • If the population is 15,346 and they claim 70,532 tesserae, it would equal to 4.593 tesserae per person, leaving its economic rank unchanged as the 9th richest District.
• No official arena wear for District 9 was produced for the The Hunger Games film, apart from the District 9 female's hiking boots. However, based on the jackets worn by the tributes in their official photos, the district's color seems to be log cabin green (#373b2c –    ).
  • Although the final cut of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes changed all the District banner colors to red, pre-release materials show District 9's color for the 10th Hunger Games appears to be cornflower blue (#6495ED -    ).