This Place

This Place is the graphic novel Ive 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. -- Jesse Wente, broadcaster and film critic Ambitious in scope and strong in execution, this collection succeeds in prompting readers to remember (or learn) Indigenous history -- Elisa Gall * The Horn Book Magazine * An illuminating, self-assured graphic novel anthology in which every panel reads like a radical act. * Kirkus Reviews * [A] breathtaking comics anthology...this mix of powerful storytelling and memorable illustrations is a place to begin a dialogue with Indigenous peoples in Canada. -- Jeffrey Canton * The Globe and Mail * this collection provides invaluable opportunity to hear voices that are featured all too rarely in literature and is a worthwhile addition to collections. -- Summer Hayes * Booklist * Selected for AICL's Best Books of 2019 -- Debbie Reese * American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) * a solid addition to....curriculum...as it specifically addresses social, political, economic and cultural challenges in Indigenous communities. Most importantly, the collection points Indigenous students toward seeing themselves, hearing their own voices and stories, and reading about the perspectives of their ancestors and their communities. -- Jennifer Wyatt * Professionally Speaking Magazine, Ontario College of Teachers * This is the power of storytelling. It's going deeper and truer than the history books and the newspaper accounts. It's bringing the stories to the people for the people and doing it for the right reasons: to teach and to illuminate. This Place: 150 Years Retold is the dawn to a new storytelling tradition that doesn't need to be held back. It should be shouted forward from now on. -- Helen Kubiw * CanLit for LittleCanadians * Selected for School Library Journal's Best Books 2019, Best Graphic Novels * School Library Journal *

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (she/her/hers) is a writer, poet, spoken-word performer, librettist, and activist from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Saugeen Ojibway Nation, as well as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Indigenous Literatures and Oral Traditions at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She is the founder and Managing Editor of Kegedonce Press which was established in 1993 to publish the work of Indigenous creators. Kateri has written two books of poetry, was a contributor to the graphic novel anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold, was editor of the award-winning Skins: Contemporary Indigenous Writing, and has released two poetry and music CDs. Kateri's work has been published internationally, and she has performed and spoken around the world. (Re)Generation: The Poetry of Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, a book of collected poems, was released by Wilfrid Laurier Press in 2021 and the translation of her first collection of poetry, Mon coeur est une balle perdue, was released in 2024 by Le Norot. Her poem restitution OR Nanabush speaks to the settlers was shortlisted for the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize. Sonny Assu is an interdisciplinary artist whose diverse practice is informed by a deep connection to Kwakwakawakw 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 Ligwidaxw 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 Mikmaq heritage. He has written five books with the Healthy Aboriginal Network, (Lost Innocence, Drawing Hope, River Run, Making it Right, and Emilys Choice). Brandon has written and illustrated Jean-Pauls 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, Seans 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, Seans 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 an

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 kitasknaw 2350 Chelsea Vowel Illustration: Tara Audibert Colours: Donovan Yaciuk 278 Notes 281 Select Bibliography 284 About the Contributors