Scan barcode
A review by 600bars
Paying the Land by Joe Sacco
5.0
Learned so much. This is basically a bunch of interviews presented with drawings. I loved the drawings and the lettering. i liked how the pages flowed without panels to box things in. I kept thinking of the last graphic novel I read that made me feel extremely bleak and blackpilled, sabrina, and how the format of their panels (or lack thereof) were so perfectly appropriate for the subject matter each was dealing with. Sabrinas even tight boxes mimiced cubicles and separation while each page here was fluid and interconnected without the separation of panels. The book deals with the ways colonization forced the Dene people into lines boxes and striations separated from each other and the earth, so I thought it was drawn perfectly in a way that reflected that.
Sacco rightly grapples with being an outsider telling this story, but mostly he lets the interviewees speak for themselves. There was a lot of history to be learned, and the book did a great job of presenting all the treaties and legal stuff you need to know in a way that never gets boring. What was most valuable was forcing the reader to see a bit more nuance. I keep thinking about how mad I get seeing the pipeline ads here in MN that show happy people and list how many jobs will be created. Obviously it's fucked up for earth and my environmentalist side knows this but has to reckon with the reality side. And reckoning with the fact that I am all mad about pipelines being created without considering the fact that its easy for me to say as a city slicker who goes up north because we are wealthy enough to have a cabin and enjoy the north whenever we want for fun and still relying on oil that destructive pipelines provide in day to day life. Yes yes its more complicated than that but it's making me think n reflect which is one of the points of reading a book. Normally I would balk at any sort of "welfare makes people lazy" style claim but the book (well, the interviewees) explain their genuine issues with a paternalistic government while connecting their communities ills with the larger forces of colonization, the cyclical nature of trauma, forced assimilation and capitalism.
This seemed to cover a lot of ground and a lot of perspectives and as far as I can tell was a very respectful, nuanced and well rounded account. Probably the only other book I have read about the forced schooling was that one yu'pik american girl doll spinoff, so maybe if I were more educated about the subject I would have criticisms but as someone who doesn't know much I thought this was excellent. This was a gift from Andy to Kai and I am very thankful to be the beneficiary hehehehe.
Also all the idiots who make "can we join canada" style statements about how trump is bad should read this to learn about how FUCKED UP AND CRUEL our neighbors to the north are (not that them sucking absolves us from anything but it does piss me off how much a nice reputation canada enjoys)
Sacco rightly grapples with being an outsider telling this story, but mostly he lets the interviewees speak for themselves. There was a lot of history to be learned, and the book did a great job of presenting all the treaties and legal stuff you need to know in a way that never gets boring. What was most valuable was forcing the reader to see a bit more nuance. I keep thinking about how mad I get seeing the pipeline ads here in MN that show happy people and list how many jobs will be created. Obviously it's fucked up for earth and my environmentalist side knows this but has to reckon with the reality side. And reckoning with the fact that I am all mad about pipelines being created without considering the fact that its easy for me to say as a city slicker who goes up north because we are wealthy enough to have a cabin and enjoy the north whenever we want for fun and still relying on oil that destructive pipelines provide in day to day life. Yes yes its more complicated than that but it's making me think n reflect which is one of the points of reading a book. Normally I would balk at any sort of "welfare makes people lazy" style claim but the book (well, the interviewees) explain their genuine issues with a paternalistic government while connecting their communities ills with the larger forces of colonization, the cyclical nature of trauma, forced assimilation and capitalism.
This seemed to cover a lot of ground and a lot of perspectives and as far as I can tell was a very respectful, nuanced and well rounded account. Probably the only other book I have read about the forced schooling was that one yu'pik american girl doll spinoff, so maybe if I were more educated about the subject I would have criticisms but as someone who doesn't know much I thought this was excellent. This was a gift from Andy to Kai and I am very thankful to be the beneficiary hehehehe.
Also all the idiots who make "can we join canada" style statements about how trump is bad should read this to learn about how FUCKED UP AND CRUEL our neighbors to the north are (not that them sucking absolves us from anything but it does piss me off how much a nice reputation canada enjoys)