The historical content of Red River Resistance offers a valuable perspective on a critical event in western Canadian history. Teachers of Social Studies and Canadian History will find it a worthwhile supplemental resource, and adolescent readers who connected with Echo in Pemmican Wars will be interested to see how she is faring.
This informative and captivating sequel to Pemmican Wars... seamlessly brings readers back into Echo’s time-traveling adventures as the teen travels to some of the most tumultuous moments in Canadian Indigenous history.
Selected for The best Canadian comics of 2018
Selected for the Best Books for Kids & Teens reading list
The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC)
The more time I spend with this book, the more I appreciate the author's and the illustrator's & colorist's craft...Recommended
American Indians in Children's Literature - Jean Mendoza
...the reader is left looking forward to [Echo's] journey in...Vol. 3. [This book] would be [a] welcome addition to a secondary school library or classroom, or to an Indigenous Studies or Indigenous Literature curriculum.
...this informative and captivating sequel to Pemmican Wars (2018),....seamlessly brings readers back into Echo’s time-traveling adventures as the teen travels to some of the most tumultuous moments in Canadian Indigenous history.
This is the 2nd volume of a historical narrative of two group of settlers, the English and the French, fighting over the territory of the Metis, the Native Americans who live on that land in Canada during the 19th Century. Echo, the protagonist, is learning about the events in her history class during the 21st Century, and reliving the events of the past in person in tandem. This is an interesting narrative decision by author, Katherena Vermette, because there is a difference between living through an event and reading about it.
While I have not had the chance to read the first volume, it is not difficult to get into the story. Given Echo's predicament, readers will wonder whether or not Echo is experiencing history just so she doesn't have to deal with the present. At the same time, Echo gets to experience history with all of the cruelty that goes with it.
For those who are not familiar with Canadian or Native American history, this graphic novel provides an interesting insight to a group of Native Americans from Canada. Katherena Vermette presents her readers with the familiar narrative the Native Americans, throughout the Americas, suffered through from the Settlers who stole their land and livelihoods from them through unjust means. Readers have an idea of what happened to the Metis, but Echo's story remains a mystery. We'll just have to wait until the next volume to find out.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
...The artwork is realistic and absolutely critical to the story. The colors used are rich and vibrant and I can’t say enough of this series. It reaches deep into the heart and mind of a teen who is struggling with her own identity and situation, something I feel other teens will identify with.
The history lesson is incorporated into the story using fast paced dialogue, tension and wonderfully illustrated characters.
I love this series and can’t wait to see what happens next.
My Book Abyss blog - JL Slipak
This title is an absolute must for any school library or public library in Canada. With the 150th anniversary of the Red River resistance occurring in 2019, and the major focus of the Canadian government on reconciliation, this comic couldn't have come at a better time. I am so pleased to be finding so many new comics and graphic novels by Indigenous creators, and the fact that is title focuses on Métis history is fantastic!
This title is the second in a series about a young Métis girl, Echo, who finds herself in some sort of foster care. While there she is attending high school and "experiencing" the history of the past, most notably the events surrounding the controversial and tumultuous Red River resistance.
I did read the first volume of this series, and I was very excited about this next instalment. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I think my main problem is that this seems to be focusing on telling the story of the Red River resistance very quickly, but in doing so, it has forgotten to develop the characters. It also takes it for granted that you have some background in this history.
Sadly, this means that the characters are little more than shells. Even the main character, Echo has less than a personality. I feel like she was beginning to be explored in the first volume, but her personality just fell flat in this one. There is so much more that could be done with this story without exaggerating or undermining the important history that is being explored. I wanted so much more!
Because of this, I feel like it'll lose some of its audience. This comes off more as an educational work, and less as a something to pick up for pleasure. However, as an educational work it is invaluable, and would do very well to be included as supplemental material in Canadian elementary and high school classrooms.
NetGalley - Laura Cheesman
I absolutely loved Pemmican Wars , the first book in the A Girl Called Echo series. I am thrilled to be saying that Red River Resistance has absolutely lived up to my expectations.
Katherena Vermette has woven a beautiful story that blends together the everyday life of a lonely teenage Métis girl in Manitoba with the history of the Métis in that area. Echo is an incredibly relatable character that I think many teens would see themselves in. I moved around a lot as a teen and dealt with a lot of depression, with music and reading serving as my primary comforts, so Echo reminds me a lot of my teenage self. The historical aspects are fascinating. It is painful and important seeing Echo come to terms with the history of the Métis, and too realistic to see her going into it without knowing very much. These stories highlight gaps in my own knowledge that make me feel eager to learn. The information in this volume is a little better known than the information in the first volume, but genuinely not by much. There is so much to learn still, so I look forward to seeing what events the next volume will focus on.
Scott B. Henderson is a talented artist, and I have enjoyed a number of other books featuring his work. This is no exception, his work in A Girl Called Echo continues to be impressive. I think part of why I connect this story mentally to 7 Generations is because he did the art for both (although both stories also have a contemporary and historical focus and were published by HighWater Press, so it makes sense either way). I always prefer Henderson's work when it's coloured, and Donovan Yaciuk's colouring works incredibly well here, and it helps to bring the story to life.
I appreciated the historical timeline and the Métis List of Rights included in the back. I personally always enjoy reading any additional real-world facts in the back of any of my historical fiction readings.
I am incredibly eager to see where else this story goes, and I look forward to seeing a third volume in the future. I hope to read more from all of the creators involved in this series. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys any kind of blend of contemporary and historical story.
NetGalley - Elizabeth Kolar
NetGalley - Melissa Schmidt
Kindred meets Canadian Aboriginal history as Echo slips back and forth between time from present day Winnipeg to the Red River Valley, where she observes the annexation of the Red River Colony into Canada and the fight of the Métis to ensure their say in their government.
Knowing absolutely nothing about Canadian history and less than that about Aboriginal Canadian history, this was fairly confusing—but it was laid out clearly.
So, having not read the first book in the series, Pemmican Wars, all I can say is that I do wish that Echo's timeline had been skipped completely, as she seemed fairly bland and closed off (which makes sense, as she was emotionally distant because of being separated from her mother), in favor of following the Métis and their struggles to keep a say on their land and their culture. Again, this was because I hadn't read the first book and didn't have the background, so this is entirely an issue to do with me jumping in mid-series.
The timeline at the very end of the graphic novel is the most illuminating, as it has a clear chain of events that lead to the Red River Resistance, the groups involved, the different motivations, the Métis List of Rights, and the creation of Manitoba as Canada's fifth province—and who wins, who loses, and who lived to tell their stories (and finally learning the the stories of the marginalized).
I enjoyed the LGBTQIA+ rep, and especially the #ownvoices Aboriginal rep.
Definitely a good read to get a basic understanding of Manitoban history, and the history of Aboriginal Canadians.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
NetGalley - Laurel Beckley
NetGalley - Tiffini Terry
Red River Resistance is a graphic novel taking place through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, Echo who time travels between events in the Red River area of Canada in 1869-1870. Not being Canadian, I was not familiar with the history at ALL and so greatly appreciated the timeline in the back of the book!
The story portrays the injustice done to the indigenous people throughout North America during this time in history, but focusing on the Métis people of Canada. Despite the more than a 100 years since the events, Echo - a descendent of some of the original inhabitants - still struggles with her identity and place in the world, and the effects of a corrupt government that cared nothing for the people it displaced, only for the monetary value of their lands.
The illustrations in this book suit the story perfectly. They have an overall blue/gray cast that lends itself to the mood, and there are very few words even for a graphic novel. For the subject matter, it really works. I will definitely be going back and looking for the first of this series, and hope there will be more after!
NetGalley - Elizabeth Amos
NetGalley - Aaron Cleaveley
Prairie Books Now - Ariel Gordon
2019-02-08
A sequel offers a teenager's further adventures through Métis history.
In Vermette's (Pemmican Wars , 2018, etc.) graphic novel, Métis teen Echo Desjardins is starting to fit in a little better at Winnipeg Middle School, making friends and getting involved in the Indigenous Students Leadership group. But she still spends most of her time listening to music on her cellphone and getting swept up in the lectures that her teacher gives on the history of the Métis people. This volume covers the 1869 Red River Rebellion—or Red River Resistance, as Echo's back-in-time friend Benjamin calls it, because "there will be no violence." After the Hudson Bay Company sells the land on which the Métis people live to the government of Canada, Métis leaders Louis Riel and Ambroise Lépine attempt to halt the inevitable flood of settlers. They establish a provisional Métis government for the Northwest Province. Though the Métis take great pains to negotiate peacefully with the incoming Canadian government, troublemakers both inside and outside of their territory—including the anti-Roman Catholic, anti-French, anti-Indigenous Orangemen—may make the violence that Benjamin promised would never occur impossible to stop. As Echo witnesses one of the great what-ifs of North American history fall apart, the tragedy is reflected in the pain she feels in her personal life back in the 21st century. As in the previous volume, the story is accompanied by beautiful, full-color artwork by the team of Henderson and Yaciuk (Pemmican Wars , 2018, etc.). This book has less of Echo's own life in it than the first novel, and the historical portions, with their many bearded 19th-century leaders, feel perhaps more didactic and less dramatic than the author's account of the Pemmican Wars. Even so, this underexplored portion of North American history should prove intriguing and affecting for readers, particularly those living in the United States, where the struggles of the Métis people are largely unknown. By contrasting these historical events side by side with Echo's story, this installment does a wonderful job showing how the ripples of past policies have shaped the current day and how political decisions always have a personal cost.
A visually stimulating and emotionally gripping graphic novel about the Métis people.
