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Here's a place where you can review books, educational dvds and documentaries that relate to ACE concepts or trauma-informed practices. "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." ~ Nelson Mandela

Montana poets embrace Native culture in new graphic novel (montanafreepress.com)

 

The Lakota storytelling of “Thunderous” seeks to honor Indigenous traditions.

While Japanese graphic novels have been popular for decades, a new wave of comic stories from around the world, focused on a variety of cultures — India, Australia, all across South America — are coming out of small and medium-sized publishing houses. That environment has given a new Native American-centered, young-adult graphic novel called “Thunderous,” by two Montana writers, an opportunity to reach a wider audience.

“Thunderous” is about a Lakota teenager from South Dakota who yearns to fit in. The main character, Aiyana, worries that what makes her different — her Lakota heritage and connection to her previous home on a reservation — are what she needs to hide. And despite loving her family, she pushes them away to seek acceptance among her classmates. Not long into the story, Aiyana is transported into a world of talking animals and a special quest that will transform her. The characters, themes and lessons of the story are rooted in Lakota storytelling, and while Aiyana is not a hero with superpowers in the Marvel sense, her journey has a classic hero’s-origin-story flavor.

Smoker and her co-author, Natalie Peeterse, are both Helena-based poets. Smoker is a member of the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes, has published a poetry collection called “Another Attempt at Rescue, ” formerly worked in the Indian Education Division of the state Office of Public Instruction, and currently works as the Indian Education Practice Expert for Portland-based Education Northwest. Between 2019 and 2021, she shared the role of Montana Poet Laureate with Melissa Kwasny. Peeterse, who co-runs Open Country Press, a Montana literary publishing company, has published two collections: “Black Birds: Blue Horse, An Elegy” and “Dreadful: Luminosity, Letters.” Neither had written a comic-style story before.

To read more of Erika Fredrickson's article,  please click here.

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