Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels: Indigenous Peoples

Tales of myth, adventure and humour, told at the top of the world.

After wandering out to the river near their homes, five teens decide to build a fire and exchange horror stories. Chad begins by telling the group about an unfortunate fisher who encountered a cluster of small, malevolent creatures while navigating the river in his canoe. Attempting to defend himself, Carl lashed out with an oar ... and his world changed forever. One by one, the teens try to outdo each other, and the evening evolves into an impromptu storytelling competition. On certain nights, if you walk along Loon River and peer under the bridge, you might spot a fire. You might hear a laugh. You might hear a scream. If you edge closer--and the conditions are just right--your view of the river will melt away, into the inky black beyond the firelight. Not to worry--the echoes of rushing water will help you find your way back. Or will they? Inspired by Cree folklore and modern Cree life, Bad Medicine will transport readers to terrifying new worlds that only exist at the edges of human imagination.

Oil waste was everywhere--on the roads, in the rivers where they fished, and in the water that they used for bathing, cooking, and washing. Children became sick and died, cases of stomach cancer skyrocketed, and women miscarried or gave birth to children with congenital disorders. The American oil company Texaco--now part of Chevron--extracted its first barrel of crude oil from Amazonian Ecuador in 1972. It left behind millions of gallons of spilled oil and more than eighteen million gallons of toxic waste. In Crude, Ecuadorian lawyer and activist Pablo Fajardo gives a firsthand account of Texaco's involvement in the Amazon as well as the ensuing legal battles between the oil company, the Ecuadorian government, and the region's inhabitants. As a teenager, Fajardo worked in the Amazonian oil fields, where he witnessed the consequences of Texaco/Chevron's indifference to the environment and to the inhabitants of the Amazon. Fajardo mobilized with his peers to seek reparations and in time became the lead counsel for UDAPT (Union of People Affected by Texaco), a group of more than thirty thousand small farmers and indigenous people from the northern Ecuadorian Amazon who continue to fight for reparations and remediation to this day. Eye-opening and galvanizing, Crude brings to light one of the least well-known but most important cases of environmental and racial injustice of our time.

Métis teenager Echo Desjardins is struggling to adjust to a new school and a new home. When an ordinary history class turns extraordinary, Echo is pulled into a time-travelling adventure. Follow Echo as she experiences pivotal events from Métis history and imagines what the future might hold. This omnibus edition includes all four volumes in the A Girl Called Echo series: In Pemmican Wars, Echo finds herself transported to the prairies of 1814. She witnesses a bison hunt, visits a Métis camp, and travels the fur-trade routes. Experience the perilous era of the Pemmican Wars and the events that lead to the Battle of Seven Oaks. In Red River Resistance, we join Echo on the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. Canadian surveyors have arrived and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for the future of her people in Red River. In Northwest Resistance, Echo travels to 1885. The bison are gone and settlers from the East are arriving in droves. The Métis face starvation and uncertainty as both their survival and traditional way of life are threatened. The Canadian government has ignored their petitions, but hope rises with the return of Louis Riel. In Road Allowance Era, Echo returns to 1885. Louis Riel is standing trial, and the government has not fulfilled its promise of land for the Métis. Burnt out of their home in Ste. Madeleine, Echo's people make their way to Rooster Town, a shanty community on the southwest edges of Winnipeg. In this final instalment, Echo is reminded of the strength and perseverance of the Métis. This special omnibus edition of Katherena Vermette's best-selling series features an all-new foreword by Chantal Fiola (Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities), a historical timeline, and an essay about Métis being and belonging by Brenda Macdougall (Contours of a People: Métis Family, Mobility, and History).

If I Go Missing is derived from excerpts of a letter that went viral and was also the basis of a documentary film. In her letter, Jonnie calls out the authorities for neglecting to immediately investigate missing Indigenous people and urges them to "not treat me as the Indigenous person I am proud to be" if she were to be reported missing. Indigenous artist Neal Shannacappo provides the artwork. Through his illustrations, he imagines a situation in which a young Indigenous woman does disappear, portraying the reaction of her community, her friends, the police, and media.

Cole Pauls returns with Kwändǖr, a short story collection of Southern Tutchone and Yukon tales. Gathering Pauls's comics from magazines, comic festivals and zine making workshops, these comics are Pauls's most personal work yet. You'll learn stories about the author's family, racism and identity, Yukon history, winter activities, Southern Tutchone language lessons and cultural practices. Have you ever wanted to learn how to Knuckle Hop? or to acknowledge and respect the Indigenous land you're on? or how to be an ally to Indigenous people? Well, gather around and hear this Kwändǖr! (Story!)

MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comics Collection brings together dozens of creators from North America to contribute comic book stories showcasing the rich heritage and identity of indigenous storytelling. From traditional stories to exciting new visions of the future, this collection presents some of the finest comic book and graphic novel work on the continent.

Comic book stories showcasing the rich heritage and identity of indigenous storytelling, from dozens of creators. Each of the short stories included in this Volume will be based on a tradition from the author's own tribe/community. These stories highlight present-day traditions, and diversity, in indigenous peoples today.

Moonshot, the Indigenous Comics Collection Volume 3 brings you even more original stories, graphic novels and comics written by Indigenous authors from across North America. The stories in Moonshot 3 pay homage to Indigenous futurisms, which weaves in traditional knowledge and culture with futuristic ideas and settings where some stories are sci-fi based, some appear in the past, and some appear in places beyond, they all take place in the 'now'.

The Dene have lived in the vast Mackenzie River Valley since time immemorial, by their account. To the Dene, the land owns them, not the other way around, and it is central to their livelihood and very way of being. But the subarctic Canadian Northwest Territories are home to valuable resources, including oil, gas, and diamonds. With mining came jobs and investment, but also road-building, pipelines, and toxic waste, which scarred the landscape, and alcohol, drugs, and debt, which deformed a way of life. In Paying the Land, Joe Sacco travels the frozen North to reveal a people in conflict over the costs and benefits of development. The mining boom is only the latest assault on indigenous culture: Sacco recounts the shattering impact of a residential school system that aimed to "remove the Indian from the child"; the destructive process that drove the Dene from the bush into settlements and turned them into wage laborers; the government land claims stacked against the Dene Nation; and their uphill efforts to revive a wounded culture. Against a vast and gorgeous landscape that dwarfs all human scale, Paying the Land lends an ear to trappers and chiefs, activists and priests, to tell a sweeping story about money, dependency, loss, and culture--recounted in stunning visual detail by one of the greatest cartoonists alive.

Referencing a classic Haida oral narrative, this stunning full-colour graphic novel documents the tragic story of a leader so blinded by revenge that he leads his community to the brink of war and destruction. Red is the prideful leader of a small village in the islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia. His sister was abducted years ago by a band of raiders. When news comes that she has been spotted in a nearby village, Red sets out to rescue his sister and exact revenge on her captors.

By merging works of contemporary North American Indian literature with imaginative illustrations by U.S. and Canadian artists, Sovereign Traces, Volume 1: Not (Just) (An)Other provides a unique, extended possibility for audiences to engage with works by prominent authors such as Stephen Graham Jones, Gordon Henry Jr., Gerald Vizenor, Warren Cariou, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Louise Erdrich, Joy Harjo, Richard Van Camp, and Gwen Westerman. Through this exciting medium, Sovereign Traces beckons to audiences that are both new to and familiar with Native writing, allowing for possibilities for reimagined readings along the way. Readers will find works of graphic literature, including both poetry and fiction, newly adapted from writing by American Indians and First Peoples.

Through the works of North American Indigenous writers and illustrators, Sovereign Traces, Volume 2: Relational Constellation provides a unique opportunity for audiences to hear from a myriad of American Indian and First Nations voices on the meaning of love. Here readers will find works of graphic literature, including both poetry and fiction, that explore how celestial bodies build and share creative intimacies.

From Governor-General's Award-winning writer David A. Robertson comes this special edition of the timeless graphic novel that introduced the world to the awe-inspiring resilience of Betty Ross, and shared her story of strength, family, and culture. A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, who tells him her story. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy was soon adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changed. Betsy was taken away to a residential school. There she was forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalled the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls--words that gave her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive. Sugar Falls is based on the true story of Betty Ross, Elder from Cross Lake First Nation. We wish to acknowledge, with the utmost gratitude, Betty's generosity in sharing her story. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Sugar Falls goes to support the bursary program for The Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation. This 10th-anniversary edition brings David A. Robertson's national bestseller to life in full colour, with a foreword by Senator Murray Sinclair, Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and a touching afterword from Elder Betty Ross herself.

The comic adventures of an ordinary Reservation boy that eats tainted commodity cheese and gains super powers. Hubert Logan becomes a Reservation Sensation while helping his small Native American tribe.

Super Indian Volume Two contains the further adventures of Hubert Logan, a reservation boy who ate tainted commodity cheese and gained super powers. Hubert becomes Super Indian and fights evil forces that bring danger to the Leaning Oak Reservation. Super Indian and his sidekicks Mega Bear and Diogi face the ruthless Blud KwanTum, a vampire who wants to become a full-blood Indian at any cost.

Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan's Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape - they're so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez's grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can't stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can't bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez's community find her before it's too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don't? Colonialism and the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People are explored in Natasha Donovan's beautiful illustrations.

Dez and Miikwan's stories continue in this sequel to Surviving the City. Dez's grandmother has passed away. Grieving, and with nowhere else to go, she's living in a group home. On top of everything else, Dez is navigating a new relationship and coming into her identity as a Two-Spirit person. Miikwan is crushing on the school's new kid Riel, but doesn't really understand what Dez is going through. Will she learn how to be a supportive ally to her best friend? Elder Linda is doing her best to be supportive, but she doesn't know how to respond when the gendered protocols she's grown up with that are being thrown into question. Will Dez be comfortable expressing her full identity? And will her community relearn the teachings and overcome prejudice to celebrate her for who she is?

There has been a great deal of writing the past several decades about Native American Code Talkers of World War Two. The published works have been about Navajos and the tremendous contribution they made in the Pacific campaigns of the war. What is often overlooked is the role played in both World Wars by men of other tribes. There were Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Creek and other tribal representatives with their languages involved as well.

Explores the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this graphic novel anthology. These stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.

Three young men -- Flinch, Bryce, and Rupert -- have vandalized their community. They are sent by its Elders to live nine months on the land as part of the circle sentencing process. There, the young men learn to take responsibility for their actions and acquire the humility required to return home. But will they be forgiven for what they have done? Three Feathers explores the power and grace of restorative justice in one Northern Indigenous community and the cultural legacy that can empower future generations.

All cultures have tales of the trickster, a crafty creature or being who uses cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. He disrupts the order of things, often humiliating others and sometimes himself. In Native American traditions, the trickster takes many forms, from coyote or rabbit to raccoon or raven. This graphic anthology of Native American trickster tales brings together Native American stories and the world of comics. More than twenty Native American tales are adapted into comic form. Each story is written by a different Native American storyteller who worked closely with a selected illustrator, a combination that gives each tale a unique and powerful voice and look.

This is the story of a fisherman who suspects a party of raiders is descending upon his island home. When his warnings are not heeded, the man sets out to guard the village on his own, only to find himself caught up in a high-stakes game of kidnap and bluff. All this leads to a final showdown, in which one of the sides must blink first--and the villagers find a surprising way to save face and their home, and avoid bloodshed. Combining traditional Northwest coast and Japanese comic art in Yahgulanaas' own, dizzyingly original mish-mash, War of the Blink is a timeless fable about the bravery it takes to choose peace over war.

May, a young teenage girl, traverses the city streets, finding keepsakes in different places along her journey. When May and her kookum make these keepsakes into a necklace, it opens a world of danger and fantasy. While May fights against a terrible reality, she learns that there is strength in the spirit of those that have passed. But will that strength be able to save her? A story of tragedy and beauty, Will I See illuminates the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Based on the story by Iskwé and Erin Leslie.

Loup Garrou, trickster rabbits, and spirits with names that can't be spoken--the plains and forests of North America are alive with characters like these, all waiting to meet you in this collection of stories retold in comics! This fifth volume of the "Cautionary Fables and Fairytales" anthology series features updated takes on ancient stories from tribes spanning the continent, bursting with bedside tales that are thrilling, chilling, and most of all inspiring.