Course:ENGL 100-010/Moonshot
Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Vol. 3 (Edited by Elizabeth LaPensée and Michael Sheyahshe)
“‘Can we stop on the way home for some cigs?’ ‘See chuck’s new woman?’ ‘Yesssss.’ ‘Nothin’ gets by you does it, sister.’ ‘You goin’ to the field later?’ ‘After a shower and a nap’”
This quotation highlights the style and content of the dialogue used in “Sisters” by Jeffrey Veregge. The sisters jump from topic to topic, discussing the casual and mundane pieces of everyday life. Juxtaposed to the vibrant and otherworldly landscape, presumably post-apocalyptic or an alternate universe, Veregge uses earthly conversation such as gossip and work banter to create a fusion of worlds. Visually, the spaces between panels are manipulated to draw the reader into this new environment. By framing the scenes with pieces of futuristic machinery, grids, and buttons, we are pulled into an simultaneously monotonous and extra-terrestrial landscape. If we view this story with the assumption that this is a world post-apocalypse or another planet used as an escape from the destruction of Earth, we can see Veregge’s assumptions about the consistency of human interaction and connection. Despite the abnormality of everything physical and visual about this comic, the conversations between the sisters could be had by any group of people in our current world. I think this divide between the imagery and the dialogue content makes “Sisters” stand out among the other poems in Moonshot.
"When they had eaten all that they could and found they couldn't come for us, they turned in on themselves until none remained." (They Come For Water, 56)
I believe that this quote is a very reflective take on greed, as embodied in the way the story depicts it. The "greed" in the story, after it has taken over the bodies of the people who drink the infected water, reminds me of Gollum, with the tight, pale skin, long hands and nails, and seemingly unquenchable desire for more. While Gollum wants the mythical ring, "They Come For Water" takes a more realistic approach, making its monsters lust after "more" as a simple construct. These creatures already have all that they need, but they still desire more. This, pf course, reflects well on the mindsets of the European settlers who stole land from Indigenous people. They had enough room, and could support themselves, but still thy wanted more, because in their minds, more was better and you can struggle and suffer from too little, but feel no pain from having too much of something. So in their desire to gain more for their own benefit, disregarding the needs and cultures of the people that they were harming by taking land and forcing whole groups of people off it, the real life men became the greedy, seeking monsters that are depicted in the story. I feel that this, more than many of the other stories, is closely linked to real events, because though the real men never grew long nails and became monstrous from infected water, it may have seemed as such to the people whose land and livelihoods were destroyed by needless greed.
“They will retrace their steps to find the teachings that had been left by the trail. The stories that had been lost will be returned to them. They will find strength again. Their search will take them to elders for guidance. Many of the elders will have walked the path of the souls to the Star Web… …But the teachings left for the next generation are to choose a life without ego or greed… …So the planet won’t choke and become inhabitable!” (Future World)
On first reading this closing excerpt from Jennifer Storm’s Future World, the words induced an immediate concern for the wellbeing of the planet. A surging feeling of responsibility weighed on me to “choose” a life free of ego and greed; to live to alleviate the downward trajectory of the wellbeing of our planet. Considering Storm ends her comic with this message, the words hold a heavy finality, making for an almost guilty reflection for the reader to contemplate the ignorant consumption and benefit from the modernity of our highly technological world; often neglecting the destruction that modernity reigns on the natural world and the spirits of numerous Indigenous cultures.
In contrast to the beginning of the comic, the ending scenes display darker colours within settings of nature, creating a moody ambiance and entirely serious feel. The panels are swirling, with a prominence placed on the background movement of air and wind. The movement within the panels could represent the fast paced, ever changing world, and the urgency to change our ways. Throughout the entire comic, there is also an underlying tone within the visuals of the ‘world being so much bigger than a screen.’ Possibly alluding to the disconnection of the modern world to the natural world given the constant consumption of technology. The use of “choke” makes me think of an unexpected and sudden inability. The word “inhabitable,” overpowers the mind with images of apocalypse. Both words invoke an anxiety as if the world could–at any moment–be swept away with the winds.
I can identify with the cyber human as they are on the receiving end of advice from an elder. With the passing down of generational and ancestral wisdom, an honour is bestowed upon the receiver to be fortunate enough to know such lessons. The honour often adds to the feeling of responsibility to apply the knowledge of the elders to one's way of being. Adding to the feeling of responsibility to “choose” a life free of ego or greed. The excerpt essentially advises young people to “choose” to be the change. Spider-woman preaches that without the elimination of our selfish modes of exploitation of the environment, the world will be completely extracted. Humans would cease to remember the harmonic balance that once existed between humans and nature.
The final words also touch on the importance of passing down traditional Indigenous knowledge through stories. With Indigenous stories existing in the minds and the imagination, the traditional teachings are a gateway to environmental restoration, holding the path back to a relationship of reciprocity with the land. The stories free one of the social constructs such as ego and greed that restrict the flourishing of nature in the modern world. With this, there is a glistening of hope. Through elders, those lost will be able to regain the strength needed to rehabilitate the planet before it is too late.
“Good and evil are human constructs. We represent balance; we are the Guardians of the Ebb and Flow of Reality. To do otherwise would be contrary to the laws of our Father, The Great Mystery. You must battle Tsonokwa as his exact equal. If he defeats you, he has earned the right to continue his life undisturbed.” (Slave Killer)
The point of Slave Killer was not to teach the ways of enacting justice, good over evil. It was to suggest that the world requires balance regardless of good and evil. How do you maintain balance without good and evil? Aren’t those the two things that balance needs?
Balance need not contemplate everything in the entire universe. There is no rule that everything must be controlled through this one scale at the centre of the universe and the only components allowed are good and evil. Each situation, person or world has their own balance. Its why some situations way more heavily than others because some have a lighter balance than others. U’melth wasn’t weighing the entire universe’s balance because of Slave Killer's evil nor was it why they convinced Thunder Eagle to give Tsonokwa a fair fight. It was because U’melth was weighing the potential futures against each other to see which scenario would bring about most balance to the current situation.
The Oxford Dictionary defines balance as the weighing of two considerations against each other to see which will have a better outcome. U’melth knew that killing Tsonokwa might not result in the best outcome and told Thunder Eagle to fight equally for Thunder Eagle to reach the same realization. Thunder Eagle condemns Tsonokwa in the way he did because he must have realized that keeping Tsonokwa alive would have the people accept The Great Mystery’s just methods and realize that their way of life could lead to more interventions with similar results. If the Slave Killer lost, there was a reason for it. Killing Tsonokwa would only cause hysteria and probable uprising without the people realizing their way of life is affecting the balance of Turtle Island.
This is an important lesson in that the balance of the world doesn’t matter if you cannot understand your own balance. You aren’t contributing anything to the balance of the entire universe, only to the balance of yourself and the situations you are in. Consider the options and make your choice wisely for the betterment of yourself and your balance.
“Good and evil are human constructs” (26).
This quote from “Slave Killer,” written by Jon Proudstar and illustrated by David Cutler, provides a contrast to the western preoccupation with fights between good and evil, which is expressed in typical superhero comics. The style of this comic’s illustrations clearly references this type of comic, while subverting its themes. Though this idea that morality is created by humans is certainly not unknown in western thought, it does contrast with the traditional views of western religions like Christianity, where morality is believed to come from God. Here, there is a god (“the Great Mystery”), but this is not the source of morality. This provides a more nature-centred perspective: in nature, there must be predators to kill the prey and control their populations, for example. Without this killing, balance would not be maintained, and ecosystems would collapse. The key concept is balance, not good and evil. Interestingly, in this comic, the message is not necessarily that it is wrong for humans to have these concepts, but that beyond the human world, they are of little importance. In the divine world, like the natural world, balance is what is true and crucial. In a world like ours where so much in nature is out of balance, I believe we would benefit from paying more attention to this message and other Indigenous perspectives.
“There will come a time when the waters are poisoned, the animals and plants will fall sick and begin to die, the forests and prairies will be gone, and the air will lose the power of life” (Future World)
The illustrations of Kyle Charles and words from author Jennifer Storm in Future World, brings forth an eye-opening experience to the fate of the earth that we know. It relates to a heavy topic that we have all heard before, a term called climate change.
The protagonist warns the past of the downward spiral the earth is heading towards, that shall make the planet unrecognizable. One can see the damaging effects are irreversible as we step into the shoes of the desperate character, who forewarns the past generations of this dystopian lifestyle that has become a reality. It brings to our attention that this is a moral issue, and it is why we must take action. We have a responsibility to act now for it will ultimately affect future generations, collaborating as a society to leave a planet that is habitable for all life forms. The illustrations in Future World bring this changed society to life, it is one thing to read about a topic, however the images associated bring a sense of emotion and urgency that can’t be seen when just reading. I was struck with the images of birds falling from the sky, and the vanishing of trees from the surface, that are found behind the text. Creating a desolate area, an atmosphere that reveals what was once here is now only a memory. Yet the warning given, tells us it doesn’t have to be that way since we have the means to change the path we are on, and make a difference.
Charles and Storm portrays this quote with a warning of the future showing the decision shouldn’t be a choice, yet rather something that needs to be done. For you don’t realize until after these earth-altering events happen, how much you would wish for it all to come back.
I will be using Katherine Acheson guiding questions to talk about the short comic book story titled "Sisters" by Jeffrey Veregge which is found in Moonshot. While the art style itself is bright, neon and colourful, the more you analyze the story the more sorrowful it gets. To summarize, the story follow 3 sisters heading to their day of work farming "Venus Manila Clam[s]". These clams happens to be "an edible bi-valve saltwater clam species that was bioengineered...for exoplanets in the year 2219" (31). So they are both the food source and income source for this planet. When arriving at work, the sisters are the only beings that have facial expressions. The rest of the workers seem to just be blue silhouettes going through the motions. Throughout the story, they are seen gossiping about a girl named "Tentacles" while performing their mundane task of collecting shells. Despite the barren land, the sisters still find dull things to gossip about which gives them a sense of normality in their life. One of the things that stuck out to me was the vocabulary used by the workers and the big-toothed man (who I assume is the boss of this operation). Like we do in this day and age, the characters are seen using slang words like "Kickin'", "Kissin'" and "Jeeeeez". As well, the big-toothed man ends all his sentences with "Hubba, Hubba" (32) which I thought was quite peculiar. Another thing being the juxtaposition of the colourful landscape and the black abyss that is outer space. Even the workers themself are bright neon colours but the work they do is almost robot like, picking one clam and then the next and so on and so forth. The sisters are also seen interacting with "human objects" in the first and last page. In the first page, while on the way to work the sister on the left is seen enjoying a sandwich. While on the last page, the sister in the middle is seen indulging in a cigarette. These pages also happen to be the exact same but the sequence of panels is in reverse, illustrating the routine and tedious cycle these beings unfortunately live in.
“But the teachings left for the next generation are to choose a life without ego or greed” (Storm 18)
The spider-woman of Jennifer storm’s Future World breaks the fabric of time as she paints her reality of a future climate crisis to an Indigenous man of the past, detailing the inhabitable state of her Earth, and offering a solitary solution: warn the people of past and revere Indigenous sustainability in the future. This is not without hardship—she explains how the people of the future must “choose a life without ego” or rather renounce the colonial norms that have caused climate change, and step back to ask the Indigenous to lead them forward (18). Moreover, she emphasizes how they must “choose a life without…greed” not only must the future renounce their ways, but they must invest and commit to a future dedicated to the environment, free of capitalist greed (18). While the setting in Future World initially bears a stark contrast in appearances to our modern-day world—seamless AI, skin that cannot contact air, and bio engineered vegetation—the withering state of nature in our two worlds are identical. Storm over-animates a terrible future destroyed by climate change in hopes to awaken the reader to our ongoing climate crisis, emphasized by the abysmal state of the Earth in Future World. Like the people of spider-woman’s time we must “choose a life without ego or greed” meaning to foremost renounce our fixation with capitalism and the economy (both factors driving corporations’ 70% contribution of fossil fuels) (18). Once said fixation is removed, we must practice (with their guiding hand) nurturing the Earth like the Indigenous: repurposing animal parts after hunting, forming appreciation for nature, etc. Storm writes with the hope of inspiring us to rewrite the future of sustainability as green through the guidance of the Indigenous people before we actualize spider-woman’s reality.
"It was time to play a trick on the whole damn world." (Digital Bird and the Bitter Spirit, 114.)
In the dystopian cyberpunk-esque universe as presented in Digital Bird and the Bitter Spirit, the Indigenous peoples are not classed as proper Citizens, and languish as a second-rate demographic in what reads as a totalitarian society a lá George Orwell's 1984. The setting of this short story, as well as the highlighted quote, relate back to Indigenous persecution and suffering in real-life history (and modern day), as well as to how so much of their rightful lands have been stolen from them by Anglo colonizers: through trickery; in this case via paper treaties then foreign to Indigenous cultures. The government power of this setting most likely suppressed the rights of the Indigenous citizens via deception, whether by propaganda or oppressive legislations framed as something beneficial, and the story concludes with Digital Bird readying to overthrow said power with the same method that subjugated her: large-scale trickery.
“I am here to appease the anger of our father. You must stand aside and let me do his bidding.” (Slave Killer, 24)
In the comic “Slave Killer” written by Jon Proudstar and illustrated by David Cutler, the celestial hero Thunder Eagle is sent by the Great Mystery to stop Chief Tsonokwa’s slaughter of the Nuu-chah-nulth people. However, when he arrives he is confronted by his brother Umelth, who was tasked with maintaining balance in the human world. When Umelth stops Thunder Eagle from killing Tsonokwa, Thunder Eagle says this: “I am here to appease the anger of our father. You must stand aside and let me do his bidding.” (Slave Killer, 24) This, as well as other mentions of biblical imagery of an all-powerful father with righteous anger, were heavily reminiscent of Christianity to me. Particularly, when I read the above quote, I was reminded of a similar line from the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible: “You provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you.” (Deuteronomy 9:8) Knowing that their father, or the Great Mystery as he is later called in the comic, is a common concept of an all-powerful creator in several Indigenous cultures (known as Wakan Tanka in Lakota and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian), is an interesting example of the prevalence of the father-creator in many religions that developed separately from each other.
Thunder Eagle: “Chief Tsonokwa, I am Thunder Eagle… I have been sent by my father - the great mystery - to end your blood lust and murder of innocents.”
Tsonokwa: “You are no God!… You are an evil spirit of Bakwas!!” (Slave Killer, pg. 23)
Thunder Eagle is Slave Killer’s depicted protagonist. On superhero imagery alone, through illustrations by Cutler, he looks like your average hero with his muscular stature, skintight, bright-coloured suit, mask and recognizable logo/symbol. What immediately caught my attention when reading Proudstar’s Slave Killer was the use of white text on black speech bubbles - which is unique when comparing this comic to others in Moonshot and graphic novels in general. Curiously, this difference is only true for Thunder Eagle, setting him apart from the other characters. Everyone else in the comic uses the traditional speech bubble of black text on a white background. It is not explicitly explained why this was the case, which caused me to make my own inferences as to the role this contrast brings to the communication of the narrative.
The comic explores the theme of heroes and villains, or good versus evil. A common way of portraying these virtues is light (white) versus darkness (black). When looking at the speech bubbles and the style associated with both Thunder Eagle and Chief Tsonokwa, the suggested “hero” was given black speech bubbles and the “villain” white.
The text within the bubbles juxtaposes the assigned colour (and connected virtue) as well. Thunder Eagle speaks of saving the “innocents” whilst Tsonokwa accuses him of being an “evil spirit”. The intentions of each character as revealed by Proudstar’s text is contradicted by Cutler’s design choice, which creates a sense of tension that may cause the readers to question who is good and evil in the story, or if there is even a clear divide between the two.
Knowing the author of the story and the illustrator of the comic were different makes me wonder if this was an intentional design choice. If intentional, the juxtaposition perhaps could be a way of highlighting the dystopian element of corrupt power and the question of who is truly the violent and evil one in the story. In class, we discussed the dystopian element of the story: having one oppressive power overthrown by another (in a violent way) and if that actually solves society’s issues. The way Thunder Eagle fought and banished Chief Tsonokwa into the weapon (Slave Killer) was not a peaceful solution, merely one power’s role being taken over by another. The choice of inverting his bubble and text colours may serve as a reminder to the readers that he is not a hero in the story and that his actions were harmful instead of helpful.
"We will find a way; we always have." (They Come For Water, 55)
While the comic "They Come For Water" focuses on the roles of water and greed in our world and how this affects Indigenous communities, it also explores ideas of Indigenous resilience, as well as a uniquely Indigenous perspective on the nature of an "apocalypse".
By saying that Indigenous people have always found a way in the face of hardships, this quote references the struggles that Indigenous people have faced as a result of colonization. It implies that the catastrophic events that take place in the comic are nothing that the Indigenous people have not seen before; they have already experienced great suffering and have managed to survive. This also seems to be a demonstration of an Indigenous perspective on post-apocalyptic stories. From an Indigenous point of view, the apocalypse may have already happened with the rise of colonization. Indigenous people have experienced death, a forced disconnection from their culture, and countless other horrors at the hands of colonizers. Systems of cultural genocide, such as residential schools, have resulted in intergenerational trauma that still affects Indigenous families today. Does this not sound like a form of apocalypse? With the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, circumstances for Indigenous people were never the same again. An apocalypse is generally recognized as "the end of the world", and colonization resulted in the end of a world that Indigenous people had always known. This can be interpreted as a "cultural apocalypse", which could be what this quote is hinting at. By creating a connection between the current calamity that they are facing and the past struggles of Indigenous people, this quote suggests that Indigenous people have, in a way, already survived the apocalypse.
This idea also emphasizes that Indigenous people have faced great tragedy in the past and have still managed to survive, which relates to the theme of resilience in this comic. Because Indigenous people have faced—and still do face—many difficulties, there seems to be a tendency for some non-Indigenous people to see Indigenous people as "defeated". In fact, there are people who think that Indigenous people are mostly or completely gone as a result of colonial genocide. This comic makes a point of refuting this idea by reminding the reader that Indigenous people are survivors, and that they have a place in a post-apocalyptic world. While others fall victim to the greedy spirits from Mars, Indigenous people manage to thrive; not only are they still here, but they are stronger than ever.
"greed” (They Come For Water, 53)
Elizabeth LaPensee, the author of They Come For Water in the book Moonshot, allows a question regarding the legitimacy of western colonialism - particularly on the topic of property in perspectives of white capitalism. In Canadian history, the idea that: cultivating/ adding/ enhancing the productivity of a land equals absolute rights over the property, functioned as a dominant background while allocating land to white immigrants. The “greed” for power over the ‘empty and uninhibited territory’ led to oppression, segregation, and dispossession of the property that the Indigenous people had, justifying their actions by setting forth the stereotypes of aboriginal communities (LaPensee, 53). This particular story reminded me of the Dominion Lands Act, established in 1872, which gave a minimal portion of the land they stole back to the First Nations - an act of settler silencing. I reckon that the scenes that explained reservations being banned from access and the Indigenous moving to the mountains are parallels to similar (if not this particular act) situations that the Indigenous population had to face during the many years of settler violence. They Come For Water is an appropriate work in establishing awareness of the Aboriginal people’s standpoint.
“‘You know that many will die if you do this?’ he said. ‘There will be riots. Heads are gonna get smashed in, bullets and shock-sticks are gonna stop hearts. Not just here, but on your land. Governments don’t like being defied, and they have the weapons to make sure you know it. Your people are gonna get hit hard. And that’s on you.
'But it won’t stop there. Citizens will die because hospitals can’t scan their IDs. They’ll die because they can’t get prescriptions or food, or access tiger ID-locked apartments. It’s a cold winter, and people will be on the streets while the Government tries to contain the mess you’ll cause. Worse than a hurricane, this thing you’re doing’” (Digital Bird and the Bitter Spirit 120).
In this short story, the government put chips on the Indigenous peoples. So, the main character, Digital Bird, planned to shut the ID tracking down but Bitter Spirit talked about the other implications about stopping this. In the above quote, Bitter Spirit is that there is also a downside to taking down dystopian governments that we do not see or ignore. For example, when we watch a dystopian movie or read a book, we always see the hero saving the day and taking down the government. However, one thing we forget to see is what would happen to the already functioning society that is so reliant on the system the government has put in place. Like, in this story, for Indigenous people to do anything, they need their ID trackers. However, if Digital Bird stops these trackers from working, then people will not be able to do anything including entering their own homes or getting food. Which is one implication to her plan and something we don’t see often. Therefore, I found this interesting because it showed another side to the “heroic” save by the main character. Also, when we relate it to our everyday lives, we can see how this passage talked about the side-effects and consequences of our actions. Even though the actions were for a greater good they may have some down side and we tend not to consider it.
“This “malfunction” is breaking down a barrier in time. It’s not just a recording. I think it’s connecting me with the elder from the past. I have to try to get through to him…Maybe I can warn them of what happened to the Earth. Maybe they can stop it!” (Future World)
When Rennix sees the elder during her simulation experience, she realises that its for a reason and goes back with the intention of telling them what has happened to Earth in the future. I find it interesting how the two worlds; future and past, exist at the same time, but in different places and in different realms, and that they can interact with each other. Furthermore, they are not allowed to communicate with each other for that might have dire consequences. However, Rennix has the opportunity to speak to, touch, and see an elder from the past, thereby breaking some barrier between the two worlds that had been created for a reason. This opportunity turns out to be turning point of the story, which, prior till this point had been a cautionary tale to people in the present. The future depicted a sad, endless reality that was inescapable and doomed for destruction. Rennix’s encounter with the elder prompted her to tell him what is going to happen in the future and how the only thing that can save the future, is the past and the knowledge that can be passed down by the elders. The “malfunction”, as Rennix says, is choosing her to be the one to save Earth.
“When the water arrived, reservations were banned from access. This was a blessing. For the spirits from the red planet … had traveled through the water” (La Pensee, 54)
Throughout “They Come for Water”, La Pensee separates their audience from our earth and transports us to another planet. A planet where Indigenous peoples do not have access to drinking water, but in this scenario, the refusal of a basic necessity comes as a disguised blessing, because this drinking water awakened a monster that turned humans into monsters.
While the concept of denying entire groups of people access to safe and clean drinking water seems post-apocalyptic and nearly improbable, the truth of the matter is that it is not as far off as it seems. As of September 2020, nearly 61 reserves in Canada do not have access to clean water. So, if this is happening on our own earth, in our own country, why does La Pensee set her story on another planet? Why does she attempt to separate us from an issue happening on our own soil?
La Pensee and Weshoyot Alvitre (the illustrator of this comic) offer us an opportunity to reflect on the powers of capitalistic greed in North America by placing us on another planet so we can fully see the scope of the harm that is occurring in Canada today. The page I found the most impactful in this comic is on Page 54, where we specifically see the water being blocked from an Indigenous reserve and flowing freely to a large, white house. The large white house suggests that the access to water is determined by two things; wealth and whiteness. Those who are wealthy and those who are closer to “whiteness” are more likely to have access to clean drinking water than those who are in racial minorities and/or lower class divisions. In another panel on this page, we see a close up of water in a glass. This water has several copper and gold specs in it, which one could interpret as money as a symbol of capitalistic greed. In the next panel, a hand holds the glass with pink finger nail polish. In the next panel, the specs are not visible to us. It simply looks like clean drinking water. This communicates the ignorance of the upper class, and how they are often unable to see the gross injustices and potential danger underneath them because they chose to ignore it.
In conclusion, La Pensee, through her comic, suggests that access to clean water is determined by factors or race and class and this issue is still present in Canada today.
“We tended to the water and ourselves until we were all healed” (They Come For Water, 57)
“And we continued on, not merely surviving… … but thriving” (They Come For Water, 57)
“They Come For Water” explores how colonization has affected Indigenous communities, yet their strength and community resilience has helped them overcome the problems that are thrown at them.
Throughout the story, it is very obvious that Indigenous peoples have been isolated from the rest of society, as they are not allowed access to the water from the “Red Planet.” Due to this isolation, they only have themselves to rely on. Yet, that didn’t seem to faze them, and it didn’t seem like this was their first time facing this sort of isolation from essential resources. In the story, they overcame this problem based on stories from their ancestors, further emphasizing how they are resilient and have been able to survive time and time again no matter the circumstances, and how no matter what, Indigenous peoples will continue to thrive due to their strength and trust in themselves.
As well, I think that the way that the story is presented is very powerful. Considering how short the story is, the impact it has on the reader is quite significant. The artwork, in addition to the straight-forward story-telling, captivates the reader in just a couple of pages. In this short story, we can truly feel how Indigenous peoples are discriminated against, and see how they persevere when faced with a dire situation.
"I know we've all been getting hit with a lot of questions, by concerned community members." (In our blood, Jay Odjick)
As someone who has a decent understanding of how reserve politics work, I find this to be the most compelling page out of the entire graphic novel, next I’ll explain why. In this section of the novel, it is set in the crow river band council room as has a band counsel discussing a pressing issue to the band, suicide rates among indigenous people. This is a fact; it is a huge problem but it’s not what I’m going to be focusing on. What I’m going to be focusing on is how it’s interesting that the band council oversees deciding what to do. This is an extremely cool thing I think the author was focusing on. It’s true, many choices for hundreds and sometimes even thousands of people are made by a chief and council on a reserve. This is extremely like many forms of government and shows that the decisions for many indigenous communities are made by a select few and have major impacts on how the community functions and directly effects each band member. When they were deciding what to do about what to do about the issue, I find the image of eight people sitting in a band office deciding what is best for everyone to be not only accurate but a criticism of how reserve systems are ran. Although council is usually an elected position, sometimes they end up making the wrong decision, I found that they were all trying to do what they personally saw was best, which when applied to real life can have both positive and negative consequences for members of first nations tribes. My opinion is that this scene in the novel was the most impactful and accurate to how decisions are made on reserves in Canada and the US, a small few make the decisions for the entire community. I think it is up to the reader to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“Tonight I want to tell you about the stars… … And the story of the woman in the black hole of our galaxy…” (Storm 13)
The story of the woman was an actual story told to the indigenous people by their elderlies. The story was set way before land creatures, where the only life was the animals under the water because there was no sun or star. The Great Spirit’s daughter above the world went down to Earth through the sky one day, and all the friendly sea animals were concerned about her. They figured out that the only way to keep her safe was to find land to rest on; many sacrificed to grip a piece of Earth. Eventually, the Great Spirit’s daughter landed safely on the back of the swans. She gave birth to a twin; one was Good Spirit, and one was Evil Spirit. Good Spirit created life and men, while Evil Spirit created poisonous animals and money.
The fact that the protagonist of the chapter “Future World” in Moonshot entered the spiritual knowledge simulation world through the hole above the sky foreshadowed that the protagonist will re-create the world. As we read further, that was correct, considering that the protagonist communicates the future inhospitable world with the hope that the problem could be resolved. Perhaps a hero and an antagonist will be created at the end of the protagonist’s speech. Where the hero wants to fix the issue, while the antagonist wants the horrible condition to proceed.
Sisters, 30
An interesting detail of note in the aforementioned text is that all of the machines are illustrated with typical indigenous iconography in mind, while the landscape is plain coloured and conventionally sci-fi. This is a deviation from what is seen in the rest of the collection, where the indigenous themes are connected to the environment or people. In Sisters, the roles are reversed, and the machinery is noticeably inspired by indigenous design motifs, and the planet they are farming clams on is drawn more like a topographic map in some panels.
Perhaps this is a way of imagining a harmonious future, where tradition and innovation have stopped competing, and co-exist. In that way, perhaps Sisters is making some sort of statement on the possibility of a far off future only becoming possible if we rectify our notions of competing culture and technology. Or, it's entirely possible that it is an exploration of what indigenous cultures would do with futuristic technology, how social roles might remain despite unimaginable scientific advancement.
“Bird laughed too. She couldn’t help herself. She laughed until tears blurred her vision. She laughed as only someone who has nothing left to lose can laugh. She laughed rebellion and rage and terror and defiance.” (Pete, 121)
In this short excerpt from “Digital Bird and the Bitter Spirit,” the quote describes the scene of when the protagonist is stuck in a jail cell with a supernatural entity that she refers to as a Trickster spirit. At first, she is bitter and angry for being betrayed and captured, but when she realizes that the person in the cell with her is actually a spirit, her anger turns into fear. What caught my attention in this scene is that instead of continuing to be frightened by the spirit, she instead chooses to face the entity and even musters up the strength to laugh along with the powerful entity. The protagonist standing up against the spirit represents her resolve as a rebellion leader who is determined to fight against the government for better treatment of not only herself, but for the sake of her people as well. Her efforts and perseverance fighting against the unfair treatment of Indigenous individuals are reflective of what Indigenous people in our world are going through today.
“Sisters”
“Allie tell you who T-man left with last night?”
“See Chuck’s new woman?”
“That alien girl called Tentacles”
“Sisters” through its dialogue gives a very insightful perspective into what high school is like with rumours and gossip and what gender stereotypes influence how a high school community treats its members. The first notable instance of the highschool environment is when a character said “that alien girl they call Tentacles”. Even using the words “alien girl” alienates whoever Tentacles is, isolates her, labels her, and puts her in a box. Another stereotype brought into the writing is centering men in the discussion of relationships and hookups and viewing the women in the relationships as irrelevant or subjects of gossip and scrutiny. “See Chuck’s new woman?” and “Allie tell you who T-man left with last night?” are both great examples of men getting credit for their ‘conquests’ while also objectifying and disregarding the humanity of the woman in each situation. High school’s often perpetuate these issues and dehumanize women and treat them as something connected to men rather than as individuals. It is important to note, however, that these stereotypes and this environment is created by both men and women who gossip and cast scrutiny and judgement onto women by stereotyping them as the ‘clingy/possessive girlfriend’, ‘the prude’, ‘the whore/slut’, or ‘the nerd’ etc…
"We have come many times to advise on how we should care for her - our mother the earth - and time after time they reject our words. They say in their treaties '...as long as the grass grows and the river flows...' they will honour their words. Yet they have broken every treaty. When will they listen, when will they hear?" (H20, 37-39)
I found this quote to be particularly powerful in that it demonstrates how non-Indigenous people are slowly damaging the Indigenous people's land and subsequently culture. Indigenous people value their land very religiously so having foreign settlers trample on this very land that they value and respect would be quite unpleasant. The part of "when will they listen, when will they hear" felt like the Ongweoweh people shouting at the foreign settlers to stop ruining their land but they wouldn't listen, almost like they're begging for them to stop, which is very sad. This quotation can help us think about the larger topic of the Indigenous culture and what we should do to respect it and maintain it.
"The Human Beings have judged him evil."
"Yes, the Humans. Good and evil are human contract we represent balance; The Guardians of the ebb and flow of reality." (Moonshot, Jon Proudstar, Slave Killer)
Humans invented the concept of good and evil, which primarily depends on the moral decisions individuals make and how others receive those decisions. The concepts of good and evil may be interpreted differently depending on one's region, culture, and historical era. Something good will always be right, while something evil will always be wrong. We are more likely to get along with and befriend a good person, while those we label evil are more likely to face criticism, social exclusion, and pressure to conform.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary word 'good' means "having or showing high moral standards or great qualities of moral character; virtuous; (sometimes, esp. in early use) spec. righteous; pious, devout." (OED, good, 14a) And words 'evil' means "Morally depraved, bad, wicked, vicious. Also absol. Obsolete as applied to persons." (OED, evil, A1)
This dialogue demonstrates how concepts like evil and good are a product of human ingenuity, developed as a means to maintain social order, while supernatural beings like the gods exist in a timeless, morally grey realm. Gods are beyond such petty concerns and, instead, are intended to serve as symbols of harmony and protectors of all living things rather than as judges who turn their terrifying abilities and might on humanity. Since it is difficult to police everyone's actions, there must always be a balance between the bad and the good. What constitutes evil and what constitutes good is subjective because of the wide range of social injustices, judgments, religions, and beliefs that exist.