Description
Sean Carleton is a settler historian and associate professor in the departments of History and Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba. His award-winning research examines the history and political economy of schooling and settler capitalism in Canada. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter's/Little Peguis) and a professor at the University of Manitoba where he holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics in the Department of Indigenous Studies. Niigaan is also an award-winning writer, editor, and activist who was named to the "Power List" in 2022 by Maclean's magazine as one of the most influential individuals in Canada. Gord Hill is an Indigenous writer, artist, and activist from the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation. Gord is one of the most well-known Indigenous comics artists, with his 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book being a classic in the field of Indigenous comics.
"History plays an important role in reconciliation; to build for the future, Canadians must look to, and learn from, the past" -The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)
A Knock on the Door: The Essential Comic Book History of the Residential School System From the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada delivers the TRC's essential history of residential schooling in a new and accessible format. This comic book adaptation combines visual storytelling with the TRC's authoritative historical understanding of the system's creation, development, and ongoing legacy.
Accompanying Gord Hill's striking illustrations are a foreword by Governor General's Award-winning historian Crystal Gail Fraser, a preface by Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair, a chronology of the system's operation, an interview with the artist, a series of residential school photographs, and the TRC's 94 Calls to Action. This graphic adaptation of A Knock on the Door fosters intergenerational learning and conversations to help young readers, and those preferring an accessible and illustrated account take the first steps to becoming historically literate citizens. This comic book is a valuable tool for teachers and students, and all Canadians, grappling with the difficult and complex truth about the history of colonialism and Canada's residential school system. Audience: Ages 12-18. This book contains 104 Colour illustrations , 11 B&W illustrations.