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Pemmican Wars (A Girl Called Echo, Vol. 1)

Echo is a 13-year-old Metis girl who just started at a new school. During history class she finds herself transported back to Qu’Appelle Valley in 1814, watching Metis hunt buffalo. Class after class, as they learn about the events leading to the Pemmican Wars in Canada, Echo is witnessing them firsthand. As she travels back in time she learns more about what is happening from a young Metis woman, who pays more attention to Echo than any of her classmates. In the present, Echo dives into research to learn more about this time in history. All of it provides a connection to her Metis heritage, something she’s never learned much about. Echo’s mother is in prison, and Echo herself appears to be living in foster care—both things shown but not expressly stated or explained in this arresting graphic novel. Dynamic visuals underscore both Echo’s isolation (she often walks the school halls with earbuds, listening to music) and the strong sense of community among the Metis she visits in the past, something that she begins to share with her mom when Echo visits her. A timeline at book’s end provides more context for the history surrounding the Pemmican Wars, although a brief prose narrative would also have been helpful. ©2017 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Scott Henderson

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range: Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Graphic Novel
Subjects: 19th Century Colonialism First/Native Nations Foster Families History (Nonfiction) Jail and Prison Mothers Time Travel
Diversity subject: Indigenous

Publisher: HighWater
Publish Year: 2017
Pages: 47
ISBN: 9781553796787

CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 741.5 Vermette