Back in the (probably mythical) day, it was enough just to have an advanced degree. Relatively few people went to graduate school, and those who did were largely destined for the professoriate, the…
“So, you young ones, there will always be a battle going on. Get used to it, never give up, never lose your energy, your devotion, or your sense of humor.”
Words by: Tasha Spillett / Art by: Natasha Donovan / Portage & Main Press Just in time for Women’s History month comes ...
Words by: Tasha Spillett / Art by: Natasha Donovan / Portage & Main Press
Just in time for Women’s History month comes this offering from Portage & Main Press centering an group that we rarely see represented anywhere in most media: Indigenous people and especially Indigenous girls and women. Familiar with Portage & Main Press when I picked up and read A Girl Called Echo, Vol. 1 (Pemmican Wars) penned by Métis writer Katherena Vermette, I figured that I’d once again be able to read another graphic novel centering these women handled by a female creative team and this time both members with an Indigenous background. This graphic novel features two best friends, Miikwan and Dez, and chronicles their struggles not only being young but Indigenous young women navigating a world that historically hasn’t been kind to those who look like them. Miikwan is Anishinaabe, and Dez is Inninew. Their friendship is strong, something akin to sisters, and they find themselves tested like never before.
This is writer Spillett’s debut graphic novel, and I couldn’t be happier to have a narrative written about Indigenous girls from an Indigenous woman who writes that she is most heart-tied to contributing to community-led work that centers on land and water defense, and the protection of Indigenous women and girls. As an educator, poet, and emerging scholar who draws her strength from both her Nehiyaw and Trinidadian bloodlines, I’m furthermore happier to see an educator writing a book about Brown girls aimed at tween and teen readers.
WHEW. The narrative presented in this comic offering does several things, and it’s done so right–this work is not only centering Indigenous girls and women but also giving us a beautiful glimpse of sisterhood. Miikwan and Dez celebrate each other, their coming into womanhood together, fret, fall victim to fear, try to protect each other and ultimately make it back to each other. There was a world wind of emotions I experienced reading and following along in their journey; sometimes I wept, other times I cheered, and smiling at them being together and safe.
I picked up on the strong sense of community portrayed on the pages, from a parent who pops in with a family heirloom when needed with a kind word, to a counselor at school who takes one girl aside to listen and offer a spiritual resolution that honors ancestors, and to a female stranger who comes to the aid of a runaway teen girl. Spillett pens a tale where community matters and kinfolk ain’t just your skin folk and the narrative is strengthened as a result. There are so many stereotypes that plague People of Color, Native and Indigenous people don’t escape this reality, yet in this book there are no gross jokes beaten into our consciousness. They are no unfortunate caricatures of the folks who walked these lands before colonization disrupted their ways of life.
Lo! Young we are and yet have stood
like planted hearts in the great Sun
of Love so long (as two fair trees
in woodland or in open dale
stand utterly entwined and breathe
the airs and suck the very light
together) that we have become
as one, deep rooted in the soil
of Life and tangled in the sweet growth.
J.R.R. Tolkien
printed in Carpenter’s biography, Tolkien (1977)
Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples Lecture Wednesday, May 9th 6:30pm in the Many Nations Longhouse Featuring Dr. Karletta Chief and Dr. Margaret H...
Assumption #3: The role/circle system holds space for everyone to have and use power.Holacracy does create space for everyone to have and use power, but only a certain kind of power. If we understand power as the ability to do something in a particular way, or influence others to do something in a particular way, then it’s easy to see that there are many different types of power. There is the power we use when we vote (formal power), the power we use when we give a dog a treat (reward power), the power we use to solve an algebra equation (expert power), the power we use when we put a child in time-out (coercive power), the power we use to give insider information to some people but not others (informational power), and the power that we use, consciously or unconsciously, by being in gendered/racialized/able bodies in the United States (referent power). -from https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/01/09/autopsy-failed-holacracy-lessons-justice-equity-self-management/
Last week, Barcelona-based studio Nomada Games and publisher Devolver Digital announced Gris, a beautiful platforming game. Coming to the ...
Last week, Barcelona-based studio Nomada Games and publisher Devolver Digital announced Gris, a beautiful platforming game. Coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC, it features some slick animation and watercolor visuals that do more than please the eye. Captivated by its beautiful trailer, I quickly searched for the game’s press release to find out more. While there weren’t many details, the following line from Nomada Games’ statement struck a chord with me:
“Free of danger, frustration or death; players will explore a meticulous designed world brought to life with delicate art, detailed animation, and an elegant original score.”
That first line. The promise of an adventure without violence, without death, and without winning or losing. Just puzzles, platforming, and challenges that test your skill? The thought of an experience like that is refreshing, especially in an age where violence is the core design of most gaming experiences.
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