Northwest Resistance

by Katherena Vermette, Scott B. Henderson (Illustrator), Donovan Yaciuk (Illustrator)

Overview

Echo Desjardins just can't stop slipping back and forth in time.

In Northwest Resistance, Echo travels to 1885, a period of turmoil. The bison are gone, settlers from the East are arriving daily, and the Métis and First Nations of the Northwest face hunger and uncertainty as their traditional way of life is threatened. The Canadian government has ignored their petitions, but hope rises when Louis Riel returns to help. However, battles between Canadian forces and the Métis and their allies lead to defeat at Batoche. Through it all, Echo gains new perspectives about where she came from and what the future may hold.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553798316
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Series:	A Girl Called Echo , #3
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.13(d)
Lexile:	HL550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

katherena vermette (she/her/hers) is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses’ Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton) were both national best sellers and won multiple literary awards.

She is the author of numerous other bestselling titles, including the A Girl Called Echo series (HighWater Press) and the Seven Teachings Stories series (HighWater Press).

Scott B. Henderson (he/him) is a freelance illustrator, whose reputation for cultural sensitivity and an openness to listen and learn has garnered a large body of work in collaboration with Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities. His work spans several critically acclaimed graphic novels, including 7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga (Indigenous history & Residential Schools); A Girl Called Echo series (Métis history); A Blanket of Butterflies (2016 Eisner Nomination); a short story in Marvel Voices: Pride #1 (2022); and the post—apocalypse graphic novel, Last Breeds (fall 2024). Scott is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. He resides in Winnipeg with his partner.

Since 1998, Donovan Yaciuk (he/him/his) has coloured books published by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse comics, and HighWater Press including the A Girl Called Echo and The Reckoner Rises series, as well as select stories in This Place: 150 Years Retold. Donovan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and began his career as a part of the legendary, now—defunct Digital Chameleon colouring studio. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with his wife and two daughters.

What People are Saying About This

CCBC

Among CCBC's monthly Reading List, Great Graphic Novels

Lonestars Junior

Among Lonestars Junior Top Picks
 

Loan Stars

Selected for the Junior Top 10 reading list

NetGalley - Alicia Adams

3 out of 5 stars

I have enjoyed the Girl Called Echo series. It follows Echo, who is Metis, as she time travels back and forth from the present day to the time of the Metis resistance. It reminds me of Kindred by Octavia Butler.

My biggest issue with the series is that the volumes are so short. It would be easier to follow if the author made each volume longer and spent more time with Echo in the present day. The author should also slow down the plot when she travels back in time. It's difficult to keep track of everything that's going on in the past. The author tries to compensate for this by providing a timeline at the end, but it is a huge information dump for such a short book.
I would love to see more of what is going on with Echo and her mother in the present day. After three volumes, I still don't feel connected to her character. She is more of a device that's being used to present the historical information, but her present-day issues are throwaway material.

I don't know much about the history of Canadian Indigenous people and I appreciate an owned-voices series that shows what they went through. Flaws aside, I think it is a great tool for teachers and recommend it to anyone who doesn't know about the Metis or Canadian Indigenous history.

—NetGalley reviewer

NetGalley - Rogene Carter

5 out of 5 stars

I would recommend that anyone looking to read this series actually read the entire three volumes because they are short and highly enjoyable! Informative and entertaining!
—NetGalley reviewer

NetGalley - Lauren Moody

4 out of 5 stars

This comic is a wonderful way to teach parts of history many people might have forgotten. To who that Canadian Indigenous people went through many of the same things that happen in America. It shows the history in a way that would be easy for a younger audience to understand, along with keeping their interest. Though many places seemed very information drop, overall it is an amazing graphic novel.
—NetGalley reviewer

CBC Books

Selected for The CBC Books spring reading list: 40 great books to read this season

Editorial Reviews

Among CBC Books' Best Canadian Comics of 2020

CBC Books

Henderson’s lifelike illustrations are striking and filled with raw emotion. Yaciuk’s infused colour—work further elevates this historical account. This is a well—conceived story, which links the past to the present. A tremendous way for teens to learn history

Mighty Village

Among AICL's Best Books of 2020

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

Among Best Books for Kids & Teens, a starred selection of exceptional caliber

The Canadian Children's Book Centre

If you are a Canadian history nerd like me, check out the third volume of A Girl Called Echo. A graphic novel that tells the story of the Northwest Resistance, while continuing Echo’s journey in modern day Winnipeg.

Books for a Beautiful World - Ellen Bees

This book, along with so many others that HighWater Press publishes, [is] fantastic. The melding of history and fantasy that focus on Own Voices is something the publisher does beautifully.

The Tiny Activist

Selected for the Junior Top 10 reading list

Loan Stars

4 out of 5 stars

Educational, action-oriented, and ancestral historical fiction involving Louis Riel and the Metis and First Nations people...along with a young back-and-forth through time travelling 13 year old Metis girl. She's experiencing the strength and pain of her current and ancestral relatives. The graphic novel format for this story is geared toward teen readership, as both educational and to show the real life righteous struggles of the Metis and First Nations people in Canada. A worthy goal and an excellent story with good art.

NetGalley - Graeme Fox

4 out of 5 stars

[I was sent a copy of this comic on Netgalley in return for an honest review.]

Northwest Resistance is the third volume in the graphic novel series, A Girl called Echo. It follows the main character (Echo) as she explores her heritage and the history behind The Settlers and the Canadian government.

Despite being only a short read, the comic is extremely well written and presents the story in both a captivating and interesting manner. We explore the history directly alongside the main character, and are given a more in depth understanding of how things may have turned out the way that they did.

I thought the artwork was beautiful and did a great job of conveying Echo's emotions, along with the story as a whole. The comic is perfect for both young and old readers as it is rather straight forward and easy to understand.

Overall, I thought the comic was very informative and I would definitely be interested to read the 4th volume when it comes out!
 

NetGalley - Jinghay Cheng

4 out of 5 stars

This text provides an accessible entry for students engaging in history related to Louis Riel and the Metis. The graphic novel format is engaging, and creates opportunities for students to work through image and text connections. I think based on my reading of it, it would be important to be read in series (as it seems to be intended) in order to understand the time-travel element that occurs. The time travel element does allow students to engage in the historical material in a way that asks, "what would it be like to be at important events when they happened?". One critique is that some dialogue comes across more like written language than spoken making it sometimes feel artificial to a reader.

NetGalley - M. B.

4 out of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this title!

Northwest Resistance is the third volume of the A Girl Named Echo graphic novel series, and like the first two volumes, is quite good. The story once again follows the titular Echo as she is transported mysteriously to the relevant time periods significant to Metis history. In this case the 1885 resistance.

Plot: Echo encounters Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont at the outset and throughout the conflict, dropping in periodically such as at the Battle of Duck Lake. Weaving through the historical narrative is the contemporary one, Echo and her concern for her ill mother reflects the violent struggle of the Metis fighting for their rights. A major theme present in both is hope. Hope that things will improve and holding out hope under implausible odds.

Setting: Physically, the story takes place in the prairie provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba mostly), while the time period jumps back and forth between the present day and 1885.

Characters: Echo is once again our protagonist, with several major and minor supporting characters including Echo’s own ancestors, and important Canadian historical figures like Louis Riel. The characterization is mostly broad, but well done. Echo herself is a little thinly drawn.

Final Thoughts: For a series that provides historical knowledge and context while attempting to tell its own narrative, you can do far worse than Katherena Vermette’s series.
8/10
Recommended Grade Level: 7+

NetGalley - Cody Deserranno

4 out of 5 stars

As a Canadian teacher, I find the ‘A Girl Called Echo’ series particularly relevant for the classroom. This is the 3rd installment in a series about Echo Dejardins, a Métis youth living in the present day. Each book tackles a different aspect of Métis history (a subject that is often missing from many historical perspectives). Echo travels back in time to visit the time period each event occurred so the books jump back and forth between present and past.

This particular book focuses on The Northwest Resistance, an uprising against the Canadian Government led by the Métis. What I love most about these books is the sense of identity Echo is gaining as the books progress. Each time she learns about her heritage she discovers a piece of herself.

The graphic novel format is perfect for the classroom and provides an interesting way to look at Indigenous issues in a lens that is relevant for students.

NetGalley - Alyssa Gray-Tyghter

5 out of 5 stars

The third volume in the "A Girl Called Echo" series, this time readers (and Echo) are taken back in time to 1884-85. Following the Red River Resistance efforts that ultimately ended with the Canadian government making Métis land part of Canada, the Métis fled to and made their home in the North-West territory. However, more and more settlers are arriving and the buffalo are disappearing. The Métis are ready to once again make their stand against the Canadian government.

This graphic novel series is short, but incredibly well-done. There is not only the amazing concept of teaching history through a graphic novel format, but the way that the main character--Echo--interacts with her history by literally allowing her to travel through time (the mechanics of which are never explained, and can honestly continue to be left to the imagination) as she makes friends to guide her through the time period. Echo's history teacher in the present also serves well as a sort-of narrator for certain parts, which well emphasizes that this event--just like the Pemmican Wars and the Red River Resistance--is part of Echo's past, present, and future as a Métis.

Again, this graphic novel series is phenomenal and I wish more like it existed: blending art, story-telling, and history together in a captivating way for readers young and old. I look forward to more books featuring Echo's time-travel escapades, especially with the little cliffhanger in Echo's present that we are left with on the very last page, the "To be continued..." dangling like a carrot on a stick.

NetGalley - Laura Collins