THIS PLACE TP 150 YEARS RETOLD

This collection of 10 stories retells Canada’s history since Confederacy in 1867 through the lens of its Indigenous peoples. Each story focuses on a significant Indigenous historical figure or event, illuminating pivotal moments with a focus on Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Eleven Indigenous authors and eight illustrators from various cultures make for a wide range of storytelling and illustrative styles, although author introductions and timelines for each piece establish some continuity. The fact-based stories relay important historical figures and pivotal moments for Indigenous rights in an accessible way, but the more fantastical stories are where this collection really shines. “Red Clouds,” a fictionalized account of a woman murdered during a great famine, conveys a disturbingly eerie and convincing alternate explanation of events, while “Rosie” offers a surreal, dreamlike landscape in which Inuit shamanism and European colonialism collide, illuminating the vast chasm between the two cultures. Although somewhat uneven, this collection provides invaluable opportunity to hear voices that are featured all too rarely in literature and is a worthwhile addition to collections.