This Place: 150 Years Retold (urspr publ 2019; utgåvan 2019)

Many stories feature Marvel/DC-style drawings, although five feature innovative presentations: Vowel/Audibert/Yaciuk "kitaskînaw 2350," Storm/Donovan "Red Clouds," Assu/Charles/Ford "Tilted Ground," Qitsualik-Tinsley/Chomichuk "Rosie," and Robinson/Donovan "Peggy."

Every story is footnoted, with timeline head notes that link 400+ years of anti-colonial resistance. Demonstrates wide variety of indigenous languages (all translated).

I learned a lot -- what the dispossession and attempted genocide feels like on the ground. ( )

Stories about the trials endured by generations of Indigenous Canadians. Many were tough to read, but I'm glad a work like this exists to tell their stories. ( )

This anthology of nonfiction, dramatized, and science fiction stories about and by the indigenous people of Canada is pretty consistently good. Skipping around to so many pinpoints in history piques the interest more than sates though. The subject matter is pretty heavy since so much of the history involves abuse and betrayals, so be prepared to be depressed, shocked, and/or outraged. ( )

A beautiful graphic novel anthology taking the reader through the history of colonialism on Turtle Island. Featuring ten stories by First Nations authors, starting at Confederation and continuing beyond the present into a hopeful future.

The Place: 150 Years Retold provides hope and gives positive, accurate representations to Indigenous people and forces colonizers to examine the impacts our ancestors have had and we continue to have on the lives of Indigenous people. The incredible design by Relish New Brand Experience creates an thought-provoking collection of stories with timelines and context and history, really bringing into focus the role of Europeans in the apocalypse faced by First Nations. Classified as a Teen Graphic Fiction book, this anthology needs to find its way into history classrooms and school libraries in not only High Schools but middle schools as well. Our middle grade children are more than capable of learning from the lessons in this book and learning the history of Canada’s colonial system of eradication in the name of progress. I don’t know about you but when I was learning history, first I never learned about the Indian Residential School system and I also found history to be quite dull and dry. I just didn’t really care about things that happened in the past when I couldn’t really see the impact of history on my day to day life in a small Ontario town. If we can provide our children and students with more interesting and engaging mediums to learn history and when we can provide concrete connections to how the past seeked to destroy First People and how the decisions of the past are still affecting the future of First Nations to live their way of life, to thrive and be seen as important stewards of the land.

As contributor David A. Robertson so accurately says in the introduction to his story “Peggy”, “[Comics] often serve as an introduction, and it is up to the reader to continue learning.” This Place: 150 Years Retold forces us as colonizers to continue to learn, to continue to educate ourselves and continue to strive towards a future where colonizers and First Nations can live in harmony. A place where everyone has what they need to find success and a time when we can learn from each other as equals ( )

The graphic novel, This Place: 150 Years Retold, showcases the voices of eleven Indigenous writers as well as several Indigenous artists. It is a powerful telling of 150 years of Canadian history from the perspective of different First Nations members, Inuit, and Metis, voices rarely heard in our history which is told mostly from the perspective of European settlers.

As in any anthology, the art is somewhat uneven and varies from black and white to full eye-catching colour. Overall, though, it is gorgeous and complements the stories which are uniformly well-written and shine a light on important parts of Canadian history since Confederation that few of us have learned, certainly not in school - stories about the horrors of the Residential schools, the kidnapping of their children in the '60s scoop, and the theft of land, culture, and language. Although the stories are (mostly) fictional told in the form of time travel or dystopian tales, there are references to real historical figures like Metis businesswoman Annie Bannatyne (who I had never heard of) and Louie Riel and real historical events like the Red River Rebellion, the Oka crisis, as well as one story about a young Cree boy from the future sent back to witness the effects of climate change.

This Place is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and important book. For those who think graphic novels are for children, yes, this one definitely is and for teens, adults, classrooms, and libraries as well. It gives a side of the story that has too long been hidden but needs to be told and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thanks to Netgalley and Portage & Main Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )