This Place: 150 Years Retold
This Place: 150 Years Retold
Select a format:
Paperback ©2019--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Consortium
Annotation: Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel.
 
Reviews: 6
Catalog Number: #6592229
Format: Paperback
Special Formats: Graphic Novel Graphic Novel
Publisher: Consortium
Copyright Date: 2019
Edition Date: 2019 Release Date: 04/30/19
ISBN: 1-553-79758-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-553-79758-6
Dewey: Fic
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

This collection of 10 stories retells Canada's history since Confederacy in 1867 through the lens of its Indigenous peoples. Each story focuses on a significant Indigenous historical figure or event, illuminating pivotal moments with a focus on Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Eleven Indigenous authors and eight illustrators from various cultures make for a wide range of storytelling and illustrative styles, although author introductions and timelines for each piece establish some continuity. The fact-based stories relay important historical figures and pivotal moments for Indigenous rights in an accessible way, but the more fantastical stories are where this collection really shines. "Red Clouds," a fictionalized account of a woman murdered during a great famine, conveys a disturbingly eerie and convincing alternate explanation of events, while "Rosie" offers a surreal, dreamlike landscape in which Inuit shamanism and European colonialism collide, illuminating the vast chasm between the two cultures. Although somewhat uneven, this collection provides invaluable opportunity to hear voices that are featured all too rarely in literature and is a worthwhile addition to collections.

Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Foreword by Alicia Elliot. This comics anthology celebrates Indigenous peoples and stories of Canada past, present, and future. Resistance, resilience, and the stories of heroic leaders and movements are portrayed in ten chronological chapters by various authors and artists and in a variety of illustrative and narrative styles. Ambitious in scope and strong in execution, this collection succeeds in prompting readers to remember (or learn) Indigenous history.

Kirkus Reviews

Indigenous authors share tales from Canada's past in this compendium.Dystopian visions have become increasingly common in mainstream culture, but as Tuscarora writer Alicia Elliott asserts in her foreword to this graphic novel anthology, "as Indigenous people, we all live in a post-apocalyptic world." Survival against all odds is a common thread in these intriguing stories, as are resistance, self-determination, and respect for traditional ways of life. Métis author Katherena Vermette tells the tale of Annie Bannatyne, a Métis entrepreneur who, in 1868, reacted to a newspaper article disparaging Métis women by treating its author to some frontier justice. Cree writer David A. Robertson explores the life of legendary World War I sniper—and later chief of the Wasauksing Nation—Francis "Peggy" Pegahmagabow, who earned a level of respect from whites in the military he could not have hoped for in civilian life. Anishinaabe author Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair recounts the experiences of an Indigenous youth coming-of-age during the Indigenous resistance to the Meech Lake Accord and the subsequent Oka Crisis—an armed standoff between the Canadian government and Mohawk activists—in 1990. Standout pieces include "Rosie" by Inuit-Cree writer Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley and Scottish-Mohawk author Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley (with stunning images by GMB Chomichuk) and "Red Clouds" by Ojibway writer Jen Storm (illustrations and color by Métis artist Natasha Donovan). The "Red Clouds" images feature thin lines and flat, broad patches of orange, white, and gray, lending the tale a picture-book quality that perfectly fits its ghost story plot. The anthology hops around in time, geography, and narrative style. But the repetition of certain illustrators and colorists gives it a cohesive, though not overly uniform, look. For those interested in the under-covered history of Indigenous Canada—and the contemporary Indigenous graphic novel scene—this should be a must-have book.An illuminating, self-assured graphic novel anthology in which every panel reads like a radical act.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Ten tales offer an enlightening perspective of Canadian history from the point of view of First Nations people. Preceded with timelines to place them in historical context, each explores survival strategies adopted by indigenous people after the arrival of Europeans in North America. -We have survived the apocalypse,- Alicia Elliot writes in the foreword. -Annie of Red River- by Katherena Vermette and Scott B. Henderson, set in 1850, features a prominent Native woman who takes physical action against a journalist who insulted Métis women. -Red Clouds- and -Peggy,- illustrated in earthy tones by Natasha Donovan, are especially vivid in their depictions of peril -first in the form of windigo (a supernatural being in traditional First Nations folklore) and then in WWI. Both recount historical events with sensitivity to shamanistic beliefs. As the stories move further into the 20th century, and First Nations people grapple with their children being forced into foster care and their land being appropriated for industry, the art becomes grounded in a more pedestrian style, shifting from the mystical visions of earlier pieces. The final story, -Kitaskînaw 2350,-by Chelsea Vowell, imagines a future Canada and strikes a heavily didactic note, pulling down the collection. Still, the anthology-s theme and authentically told stories make it a stand-out. (May)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Starred Review Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)
Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Reading Level: 7.0
Interest Level: 7-12
Lexile: HL700L

I have never liked the phrase, "History is written by the victors." I understand the idea behind it - that those in power will tell and retell stories in whatever ways flatter them best, until those stories harden into something called "history." But just because stories are unwritten for a time, doesn't mean they'll be unwritten forever. And just because stories don't get written down, doesn't mean they're ever lost. We carry them in our minds, our hearts, our very bones. We honour them by passing them on, letting them live on in others, too.

That's exactly what this anthology does. It takes stories our people have been forced to pass on quietly, to whisper behind hands like secrets, and retells them loudly and unapologetically for our people today. It finally puts our people front and centre on our own lands. Inside these pages are the incredible, hilarious heroics of Annie Bannatyne, who refused to let settlers disrespect Metis women in Red River. There's the heartbreaking, necessary tale of Nimkii and Teddy, heroic youth in care who fight trauma and colonialism as hard as they possibly can in impossible circumstances. And there are many more--all important, all enlightening. All of these stories deserve to be retold, remembered and held close.

As I was reading, I thought a lot about the idea of apocalypse, or the end of the world as we know it. Indigenous writers have pointed out that, as Indigenous people, we all live in a post-apocalyptic world. The world as we knew it ended the moment colonialism started to creep across these lands. But we have continued to tell our stories, we have continued to adapt. Despite everything, we have survived.

Every Indigenous person's story is, in a way, a tale of overcoming apocalypse. The Canadian laws and policies outlined at the beginning of each story have tried their hardest to beat us down, to force us to assimilate and give up our culture, yet here we are. We have survived the apocalypse. When you think about it that way, every Indigenous person is a hero simply for existing. The people named in these stories are all heroes, inspired by love of their people and culture to do amazing, brave things--but so are the unnamed people who raised them, who taught them, who supported them and stood with them. Our communities are full of heroes.

That's why this anthology is so beautiful and so important. It tells tales of resistance, of leadership, of wonder and pain, of pasts we must remember and futures we must keep striving towards, planting each story like a seed deep inside of us. It's our responsibility as readers to carry and nourish those seeds, letting them grow inside as we go on to create our own stories, live our own lives, and become our own heroes. As you read, consider: how are you a hero already? And what will your story be?

--Alicia Elliott



Excerpted from This Place: 150 Years Retold by Chelsea Vowel, Katherena Vermette, Jen Storm, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, David A. Robertson, Richard Van Camp, Kateri Akiwenzi-Damm, Mitchell Brandon, Sonny Assu, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, Brandon Mitchell
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Explore the past 150 years in what is now Canada through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are a wild ride through magic realism, serial killings, psychic battles and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.

v Foreword
Alicia Elliott

2 Annie of Red River
Katherena Vermette
Illustration: Scott B. Henderson
Colours: Donovan Yaciuk

28 Tilted Ground
Sonny Assu
Illustration: Kyle Charles
Colours: Scott A. Ford

54 Red Clouds
Jen Storm
Illustration & Colours: Natasha Donovan

82 Peggy
David A. Robertson
Illustration & Colours: Natasha Donovan

110 Rosie
Rachel & Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley
Illustration & Colours: GMB Chomichuk

138 Nimkii
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm
Illustration: Ryan Howe & Jen Storm
Colours: Donovan Yaciuk

166 Like a Razor Slash
Richard Van Camp
Illustration: Scott B. Henderson
Colours: Scott A. Ford

192 Migwitetmeg: We Remember It
Brandon Mitchell
Illustration: Tara Audibert
Colours: Donovan Yaciuk

220 Warrior Nation
Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair
Illustration & Colours: Andrew Lodwick

246 kitaskînaw 2350
Chelsea Vowel
Illustration: Tara Audibert
Colours: Donovan Yaciuk

278 Notes
281 Select Bibliography
284 About the Contributors


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.