This Place: 150 Years Retold
296
This Place: 150 Years Retold
296Paperback
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Overview
Each story includes a timeline of related historical events and a personal note from the author. Find cited sources and a select bibliography for further reading in the back of the book. The accompanying teacher guide includes curriculum charts and 12 lesson plans to help educators use the book with their students.
This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781553797586 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Portage & Main Press |
| Publication date: | 04/30/2019 |
| Series: | 150 Years Retold |
| Pages: | 296 |
| Sales rank: | 447,733 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.20(d) |
| Lexile: | HL700L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 13 - 17 Years |
About the Author
Sonny Assu is an interdisciplinary artist whose diverse practice is informed by a deep connection to Kwakwaka’wakw art and culture and melded with western/pop principles of art making. His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery and into various public and private collections across Canada, the US, and the UK. He currently resides in unceded Ligwiłda’xw territory (Campbell River, BC).
From Listuguj, Quebec, Brandon Mitchell is the founder of Birch Bark Comics and creator of the Sacred Circles comic series, which draws on his Mi’kmaq heritage. He has written five books with the Healthy Aboriginal Network, (Lost Innocence, Drawing Hope, River Run, Making it Right, and Emily’s Choice). Brandon has written and illustrated Jean-Paul’s Daring Adventure: Stories from Old Mobile for the University of Alabama, as well as two Mi'qmaq language-based stories for the Listuguj Education Directorate. He has also completed an art installation for Heritage and Culture New Brunswick. Brandon currently resides in Fredericton, New Brunswick.@writerbrandonmitchell
Of Inuit-Cree ancestry, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in a tent on northernmost Baffin Island. She learned Inuit survival lore from her father, surviving residential school and attending university. In 2012, she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for numerous cultural writings. Of Scottish-Mohawk ancestry, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in southern Ontario, learning woodcraft and stories from his father. Training as an artist, then writer, Sean’s sci-fi work won 2nd place at the California-based Writers of the Future contest, published by Galaxy Press. Rachel and Sean have worked for decades as Arctic researchers and consultants. In writing together, they have published 10 successful books and many shorter works, celebrating the history and uniqueness of Arctic shamanism, cosmology, and cosmogony. Their novel, Skraelings: Clashes in the Old Arctic, was a Governor General Awards Finalist and First Prize Burt Award winner.
Of Inuit-Cree ancestry, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in a tent on northernmost Baffin Island. She learned Inuit survival lore from her father, surviving residential school and attending university. In 2012, she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for numerous cultural writings. Of Scottish-Mohawk ancestry, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in southern Ontario, learning woodcraft and stories from his father. Training as an artist, then writer, Sean’s sci-fi work won 2nd place at the California-based Writers of the Future contest, published by Galaxy Press. Rachel and Sean have worked for decades as Arctic researchers and consultants. In writing together, they have published 10 successful books and many shorter works, celebrating the history and uniqueness of Arctic shamanism, cosmology, and cosmogony. Their novel, Skraelings: Clashes in the Old Arctic, was a Governor General Awards Finalist and First Prize Burt Award winner.
David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.
Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, PhD., (he/him/his) is Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) and an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. He regularly speaks and writes about Indigenous issues for national and international media outlets and his writing appears bi weekly in the Winnipeg Free Press. He has also published short stories in books like The Exile Edition of Native Canadian Fiction and Drama and graphic novels like This Place: 150 Years Retold. He is the 2018 recipient of a National Newspaper Award for best Canadian Columnist and also was named 2019 Peace Educator of the Year by the Peace and Justice Studies Association at Georgetown Universityin Washington, D.C. Niigaan is co-editor of the award-winning Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories and the editorial director of The Debwe Series (published by HighWater Press).
Jen Storm (she/her/hers) is an Ojibwe writer from the Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jen completed Deadly Loyalties, her first novel, at age fourteen. Fire Starters was her first graphic novel. She is a contributing author and illustrator to This Place: 150 Years Retold and the graphic novel anthology Moonshot Volume 3. Jen was a 2017 recipient for the CBC Manitoba’s Future 40 Under 40 and in 2019 she served as the Writer-In-Residence for One Book UWinnipeg at the University of Winnipeg. She can be found on Instagram @jenstorm where she shares her passion for creating art and posts updates on her future projects.
Richard Van Camp (he/him/his) is a proud member of the Tłı̨chǫ Nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He is the author of more than 25 books including The Lesser Blessed (also a feature film), the Eisner Award–nominated graphic novel A Blanket of Butterflies (with Scott B. Henderson), and Three Feathers (also a feature film). He is a contributor to the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold. Richard is also the author of five collections of short stories, including Night Moves, and six baby books, including the award-winning Little You (with Julie Flett).
katherena vermette (she/her/hers) is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses’ Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton) were both national best sellers and won multiple literary awards.
She is the author of numerous other bestselling titles, including the A Girl Called Echo series (HighWater Press) and the Seven Teachings Stories series (HighWater Press).
Chelsea Vowel is Métis from manitow-sâkahikan (Lac Ste. Anne) Alberta, residing in amiskwacîwâskihikan (Edmonton). Mother to six girls, she has a BEd, an LLB, and a MA, and is a Cree language instructor at the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Chelsea is a public intellectual, writer, and educator whose work intersects language, gender, Métis self-determination, and resurgence. Author of Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada, she and her co-host Molly Swain produce the Indigenous feminist sci-fi podcast Métis in Space, and co-founded the Métis in Space Land Trust. Chelsea blogs at apihtawikosisan.com and makes legendary bannock.
Tara Audibert is a Wolatoqiyik artist, film maker, and illustrator with 20 years’ experience in animation, comics, and fine art. Tara aspires to combine traditional First Nations art and storytelling with contemporary design and digital mediums. She runs Moxy Fox Studio and her first independent animated film The Importance of Dreaming, was released in 2017. She is a founder of the Ni’gweg Collective and the app “NITAP: Legends of the First Nations.”@MoxyFoxStudio
Kyle Charles is a writer/illustrator living in Edmonton, Alberta. He has drawn for several series including Roche Limit: Clandestiny and Her Infernal Descent. He has also written and illustrated short stories for publishers like Heavy Metal and OnSpec Magazine. When not busy at the drawing table, Kyle spends much of his time teaching comics to local students. He is a member of Whitefish Lake First Nation.
GMB Chomichuk is an award-winning writer and illustrator whose work has appeared in film, television, books, comics and graphic novels. His most recent work with HighWater Press, Will I See?, was a collaboration with writer David A. Robertson and singer/songwriter Iskwē. He writes and/or illustrates occult suspense stories like Midnight City, science fiction works like Red Earth, or inspirational all-ages adventure stories like Cassie and Tonk. He is the host of Super Pulp Science a podcast about how genre gets made. His newest full length graphic novel Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal was featured on The Hollywood Reporter, The Nerdist, and Billboard Magazine.
Natasha Donovan (she/her/hers) is a Métis illustrator originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her sequential work has been published in This Place: 150 Years Retold, Wonderful Women of History, and Thomas King's graphic novel Borders. She is the illustrator of the award-winning Surviving the City graphic novel series and Mothers of Xsan children's book series, as well as Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer. She currently lives by the Nooksack River in Washington State. @natashamdonovan
Scott B. Henderson (he/him) is a freelance illustrator, whose reputation for cultural sensitivity and an openness to listen and learn has garnered a large body of work in collaboration with Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities. His work spans several critically acclaimed graphic novels, including 7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga (Indigenous history & Residential Schools); A Girl Called Echo series (Métis history); A Blanket of Butterflies (2016 Eisner Nomination); a short story in Marvel Voices: Pride #1 (2022); and the post-apocalypse graphic novel, Last Breeds (fall 2024). Scott is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. He resides in Winnipeg with his partner.
Andrew Lodwick (he/him/his) is the illustrator of The Rebel: Gabriel Dumont and the story "Warrior Nation" in This Place: 150 Years Retold. A lifelong resident of Winnipeg, he has a BFA (Hons) from the University of Manitoba School of Art. Andrew has worked for many years at Martha Street Studio as technician, custom screen printer, and Studio Manager. He also maintains a personal art practice including printmaking and design work, as well as the Riso print collective, Parameter Press (parameter-press.com), which he co-founded in 2014.
Scott A. Ford is an award-winning comic creator, illustrator, and designer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His comic projects include Romulus + Remus, Giants’ Well, and Ark Land. His work has been featured in galleries and publications, on beer cans and book covers. He has also spoken about his artistic practice at numerous public presentations about art and design. Check out all of Scott’s art and comic projects at scottafordart.com.
Since 1998, Donovan Yaciuk (he/him/his) has coloured books published by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse comics, and HighWater Press including the A Girl Called Echo and The Reckoner Rises series, as well as select stories in This Place: 150 Years Retold. Donovan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and began his career as a part of the legendary, now-defunct Digital Chameleon colouring studio. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with his wife and two daughters.
Ryan Howe is a prairie Canadian cartoonist and graphic designer who fell in love with comics’ unique storytelling language at some point earlier than he can remember, and has been hooked ever since. He’s been collaborating with other comics creators since 2003, providing art for a wide variety of projects and genres on both the web and in print. Ryan’s recently tried his hand at writing as well as drawing, the ‘Daisy Blackwood: Pilot for Hire’ series being the rip roarin’ result.
Jen Storm (she/her/hers) is an Ojibwe writer from the Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jen completed Deadly Loyalties, her first novel, at age fourteen. Fire Starters was her first graphic novel. She is a contributing author and illustrator to This Place: 150 Years Retold and the graphic novel anthology Moonshot Volume 3. Jen was a 2017 recipient for the CBC Manitoba’s Future 40 Under 40 and in 2019 she served as the Writer-In-Residence for One Book UWinnipeg at the University of Winnipeg. She can be found on Instagram @jenstorm where she shares her passion for creating art and posts updates on her future projects.
Read an Excerpt
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
Table of Contents
v Foreword Alicia Elliott2 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 Migwite’tmeg: 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
What People are Saying About This
#4 on the Bestseller List for McNally Robinson Booksellers
Among Nashville Public Library's Indigenous authors and stories 2019 list
June Reading Picks for Indigenous History Month
Among USBBY's Outstanding 2020 International Books List
A landmark collection of Indigenous comics that redraws how we understand the past, present, and future of Indigenous communities and cultures since Confederation. Each chapter immerses us in a gripping story about real people brought to life through vivid and affecting artwork. This collection proves the power of comics storytelling to create fresh pathways to knowledge and new ways of envisioning Indigenous experiences.
#1 Paperback Fiction Bestseller at McNally Booksellers for the period June 2–12
Among Bestselling Canadian Books
Among 10 Canadian Comics to Read Right Now
This Place is the graphic novel I’ve waited for my whole life, and the graphic novel Canada has needed for 150 years. The stories contained within its pages are both beautifully rendered and vitally necessary. They represent a history not only largely untold and unknown, but one obscured, hidden from sight, so that other stories may occupy a privileged place in defining a national story. Their importance is exquisitely captured on these pages, told by some of the leading artists working today. This is an essential book, for comic fans, teachers, and anyone who wants to learn the stories of this place we now share.
