[Featured image “Inc Comics Presents Captain Paiute in Stereotypical Saturday Night” by Theo Tso of Warpaint Studios]
As we in the United States gather with our families to overeat and watch football and reflect on how grateful we are for things, I thought I’d take some time to elevate the voices of some of the indigenous people who still today struggle against the heel of colonization that has violently tried to eradicate them for centuries. Pass the gravy.
- The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book by Gord Hill that chronicles 500 years of Indigneous peoples’ resistance to European colonization of the Americas. Hill spent 2 years researching to make this as historically accurate as possible.
- Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, an anthology of Native voices, with a second volume out now too!
- Native Realities, a publisher devoted to delivering “original and authentic representations of Native and Indigenous peoples through stories and texts that educate and entertain children, youth, and adults.” They even have their own anthology.
- Eaglespeaker Publishing, a publisher of Indigenous graphic novels, memories, novels, language books, children’s books, and more. (Check out “Secret of the Stars.”)
- Kagagi, a graphic novel and animated series free to stream (depending on geographic region unfortunately) about an Algonquin boy fighting The Wendigo to save the world.
- Super Indian Comics, a webcomic described as “Glee” meets the old Batman television series on an Indian Reservation with superheroes.
- Sila and the Land, a collection of stories by 3 Indigenous women that looks to share perspectives of different First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. The book includes further recommendations to read or act, as well as donates a portion of the proceedings to the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, a nonprofit bringing attention to how environmental violence affects Indigenous peoples.
- Colorín Colorado’s list of American Indian Heritage graphic novels and comics; Colorín Colorado is a project offering education, activities, and advice for families of bilingual/English language learners.
- Video games to play include:
- Honour Water, rated ages 4+, a singing game that teaches Anishinaabe songs about preserving and protecting the water. (iOS devices.)
- Thunderbird Strike, a 2d side scroller where you play a thunderbird protecting the land from the “black snake.” (PC, Google Play, iOS.)
- Spirits of Spring, a puzzle game exploring natural levels while protecting springtime from evil crows. (iOS)
- Never Alone, a collaboration between almost 40 Alaska Native Iñupiat peoples to create a puzzle game available either solo or cooperatively.
- Almost anything from 7 Generation Games, creating educational games for kids.
And let’s give an additional shout out to Indigenous Comic Con, which had its third annual 3-day con earlier in November in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Indigenous charities to support
- Tips to help teach indigenous history to children
- Check out this story on this all-indigenous comic book store
- Native Teaching Aids, a store full of games to help teach Native culture, including Cards for Decolonization, a Native-centered satire card game based on the uber-popular Cards Against Humanity
- Native Americans in Comic Books: A Critical Study, while not a comic, is by Michael A. Sheyahshe, a member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
- Wikipedia’s list of Native American superheroes (to be taken with a grain of salt on how well or not well they are portrayed–it’s a coin flip honestly). (Here’s a similar list on Comic Vine.)