Cover Image: Red River Resistance

Red River Resistance

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Member Reviews

This is a well written, beautiful graphic novel, I enjoyed reading it. I am looking forward to the third volume! Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

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I feel incredibly mean in reviewing this book. I cannot rate it too highly, because I found it difficult to follow, however I also cannot rate it poorly because it is in no way the author's fault.

Red River Resistance takes a look at a specific period of Canadian history, of which I have absolutely no knowledge what-so-ever. So on the one hand, I learned a bunch of things from this book I'd never even heard about before, and on the other hand, my lack of prior knowledge made it difficult to get the most out of what I am sure is a very good book.

All I can say is that the art is really nice, and I wish I knew more about the subject so I could give this a proper review...

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Red River Resistance is a graphic novel taking place through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, Echo who time travels between events in the Red River area of Canada in 1869-1870. Not being Canadian, I was not familiar with the history at ALL and so greatly appreciated the timeline in the back of the book!

The story portrays the injustice done to the indigenous people throughout North America during this time in history, but focusing on the Metis people of Canada. Despite the more than a 100 years since the events, Echo - a descendent of some of the original inhabitants - still struggles with her identity and place in the world, and the effects of a corrupt government that cared nothing for the people it displaced, only for the monetary value of their lands.

The illustrations in this book suit the story perfectly. They have an overall blue/gray cast that lends itself to the mood, and there are very few words even for a graphic novel. For the subject matter, it really works. I will definitely be going back and looking for the first of this series, and hope there will be more after!

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I absolutely loved Pemmican Wars, the first book in the A Girl Called Echo series. I am thrilled to be saying that Red River Resistance has absolutely lived up to my expectations.

Katherena Vermette has woven a beautiful story that blends together the everyday life of a lonely teenage Metis girl in Manitoba with the history of the Metis in that area. Echo is an incredibly relatable character that I think many teens would see themselves in. I moved around a lot as a teen and dealt with a lot of depression, with music and reading serving as my primary comforts, so Echo reminds me a lot of my teenage self. The historical aspects are fascinating. It is painful and important seeing Echo come to terms with the history of the Metis, and too realistic to see her going into it without knowing very much. These stories highlight gaps in my own knowledge that make me feel eager to learn. The information in this volume is a little better known than the information in the first volume, but genuinely not by much. There is so much to learn still, so I look forward to seeing what events the next volume will focus on.

Scott B. Henderson is a talented artist, and I have enjoyed a number of other books featuring his work. This is no exception, his work in A Girl Called Echo continues to be impressive. I think part of why I connect this story mentally to 7 Generations is because he did the art for both (although both stories also have a contemporary and historical focus and were published by HighWater Press, so it makes sense either way). I always prefer Henderson's work when it's coloured, and Donovan Yaciuk's colouring works incredibly well here, and it helps to bring the story to life.

I appreciated the historical timeline and the Metis List of Rights included in the back. I personally always enjoy reading any additional real-world facts in the back of any of my historical fiction readings.

I am incredibly eager to see where else this story goes, and I look forward to seeing a third volume in the future. I hope to read more from all of the creators involved in this series. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys any kind of blend of contemporary and historical story.

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I didn’t read the first volume so I looked up a little background. Based on that, I think this is a great text exploring Métis history and the life of a young indigenous girl fitting in at school. Beautiful artwork.

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I thought this was an excellent continuation of the first book. The main character grows in her knowledge of indigenous history as well as her own self. It is a strong novel that shows the truth in what might be a skewed sense of history.

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This is a graphic novel where the art is telling more of the story than words. Which isn't a bad thing but sometimes I feel it necessary for the read to gather more information about the world. For instance, Red River Resistance. So immersive, so unique but I wanted more! This second installment is following Echo as she travels back in time to learn about the events of the Indigenous people who are living within the Rebellion. Some interesting historical facts come out, Canadian history we don't know about but should.

The illustrations are gorgeous, and I loved the way the graphic novel was laid out. The illustrator has done a fantastic job bringing to life the story written by Katherena Vermette by creating believable characters in fantastic settings but like I said before, I wanted more backstory on Echo. She very much felt like a bystander the whole time and I wanted her to be more of the main focus.

All in all, this graphic novel series is something I think more people should pick up. There's a lot to learn from here.

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Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book! Like the first in the series, I found it extremely educational, albeit short with sometimes too many characters to keep track of. The timeline at the end, however, helped alleviate some of my confusion and really ties the story together.

I look forward to when more of these are published and hopefully bound into a complete 200+ page set for me to peruse and look back on as needed.

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Holy cow! Ok Vermette, we need another 4 issues to make it a volume! Let’s do this, for the libraries, ASAP! We NEED more of Echo! It puts me in the mind of Kindred by Octavia Butler. The artwork is beautiful, I love the story. I love that it features an indigenous girl, in middle school, who seems like a bit of a rebel. I wasn’t able to read the 1st one so I’m sure I’m missing a bit, and yet the story is still complete enough for it to gain a new fan! As an American, im not as well versed as I could be in Canada’s history, so this was an amazing first look at the events that occurred. I look forward to more (Did I say ASAP? Can I make such a request? Please Vermette, more, soon!)! I can’t say I love this enough!

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A solitary teenage girl travels into the past to witness a turbulent time on the prairies.

Echo Desjardins is adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. She just can’t stop slipping back and forth in time. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory as Canadian surveyors have arrived to change the face of territory, and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.

Once again I am left with wondering what happens next. This second volume in the series is definitely meatier than the first which introduces you to Echo and her special gift. This is my first foray into learning about Métis history. I do enjoy the additional information that each volume adds at the end. I was happy to see Echo break into a smile and become a bit more involved in school despite missing her mother and struggling with her sadness for her ancestors.

**This graphic novel was provided to me through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this series.

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This type of art style isnt what I typically gravitate towards, but I liked how realistic and immersive it was. Despite not knowing Echo very well I enjoyed the few scenes we got in the present time. The flashbacks on the other hand were confusing. I like the idea of time traveling, but I had a difficult time following the names and historical events that were happening so I imagine someone younger might struggle even more than I did. To be honest Im still not sure what happened. Everything was happening so fast that most of it just went over my head.


Theres a lot of images without text that could have been used to flesh out the historical part of the story. I think a bit more context could have made it easier to grasp. It felt like a bunch of historical facts and terms were just being thrown at me. I got people names mixed up because I didnt get to know well enough to remember who they were. The time table at the end helped a little bit, but it it wasn't entertainment like a comic is meant to be at that point. It was more like research for someone who wanted to understand what happened.


I appreciate what this comic is trying to do, but I feel like it needs to be longer to get its story across to someone like me who is picking it up without any prior knowledge of the Metis Resistance. However I think the target audience are people who have some former knowledge of this time period. It would be great if someone who is familiar with these events used it as a teaching tool. A comic is a great way to get children excited to learn about history and I think this is an important subject to teach. I wish I knew more about it.

Will add more links once posts are up.

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Red River Resistance is a graphic novel that introduces the reader to some Métis history, specifically the events surrounding the Red River Resistance. We follow Echo, a girl in present time who seems to time travel through her dreams (both the night and day sort) to land in 1869.

Back in time, Echo sees the the Métis farming families, who have lived for generations along the Red River, struggle to be recognized after their land is sold out from under them. She witnesses the initial peaceful resistance against Canadian surveyors who are assessing that land, and the eventual more violent aspects of the resistance that happen through building tensions, miscommunications, and political shenanigans.

I haven't read the first book in the A Girl Called Echo series, and I think that led to me finding some parts of this book to be a bit confusing -- I wasn't always sure what the heck was going on in present times. Overall, though, this is a solid book that teaches the basics about what the Red River Resistance was and how it came to happen. The art is excellent, and I especially found the scenes in the past really pulled me into the story.

At the end of the story, there is an excellent timeline summarizing the key events, a map of the region, and a copy of the Métis List of Rights that was truly drafted in vain. This would be an excellent primer for anyone who would like to learn a bit about that part of Métis and Canadian history. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you to NetGalley and Portage & Main Press for providing me with a DRC of this book.

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Winston Churchill once said that ‘history is written by the victors’. In Canada, that is certainly true at least in relation to First Nations and the Metis. In elementary and high school, at least when I attended way back when, the so-called Red River Rebellion of 1869-70 was seen as an example of Indigenous peoples fighting the progress that the new Canadian government and, of course, European settlers would bring to the area. Negotiations were held between the Hudson’s Bay Company and Canada for the transfer of what was then known as Rupert’s Land and is now part of the province of Manitoba – the Metis and First Nations who lived there were not consulted. This led to what had been classified as a rebellion by these original inhabitants and to the establishment of a provisional government led by Metis leader, Louis Riel. They were not out to overthrow the government but wanted a guarantee that their rights and way of life would be respected. The government responded to this by sending in the army. The resistance was quickly quashed and Louie Riel would eventually be tried for murder and hanged.

The graphic novel, Red River Resistance (A Girl Called Echo #2), tells the story of what has, until recently been seen, as a rebellion from the perspective of the original peoples through this tale of a young 21st c. girl, Echo Desjardine who time travels back and forth between 1869 and the present, and who witnesses the events as they unfold. It is beautifully written by Metis poet and writer, Katherena Vermette and beautifully illustrated by Scott B. Henderson. Although this is clearly aimed at a young audience, this is a side of the story that is rarely told but deserves a much wider audience especially now as Canada is being forced to deal with our sorry history of treatment of First Nations. For anyone who wants to understand the real history of an event that is seen as one of the defining chapters in the country's history as opposed to that written by the victors, I cannot recommend this highly enough.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Portage & Main Press to the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

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An enjoyable and powerful graphic novel experience that creates historical narrative in an appealing visual format.

This book is professionally done, well formed, and worthy of sharing with a wide range of readers.

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In California, where I went to school, we were taught about the missions and missionaries that came in and enslaved the local native peoples. (Of course, when I went to school, that was not how it was taught). When I was growing up, we would then build little replicas of the missions, and visit them, and that was the part of California history we learned about.

And when we studied American history, we heard, a little, about native resistance, but mostly we focused on "westward expansion". If we heard about the Battle of Little Big Horn, or even about the take over of Alcatraz in more recent history, it was, again, only in passing.

In Canada, I expect it is the same. Stories of the First Nations peoples, until recently, were just footnotes in history, and the children learned about the founding of Canada, and settlers, and things like that.

Only now are schools teaching, I assume, about the colonization, and the treaties, and the resistance by the Metis.

So, while this book was written for everyone, it wasn't written for me. Or rather, this book was written for all the children who are now learning about the events that happened and how the First Nations and Metis were treated.

Note that Metis are separate from First Nations, in that they are decedents of the Europeans (mostly French trappers and such) and local First Nations. They are considered their own people.

So, this graphic novel, the second in the series, involves Echo who is both learning about events of the Indigenous peoples as well as living them, by traveling back in time. In this volume, we learn about the Red River Resistance put on by the Metis.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4711" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-13-at-8.49.27-AM.png" alt="" />
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4710" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-13-at-8.49.44-AM.png" alt="" />

I have done a little reading about Metis and First Nations, so I have a little background in what is happening, but not a lot, and the author assumes that we know a little bit.

For most non-Canadians, and probably for a lot of older Canadians, they may read this and scrach their heads, as so much is assumed that we know already.

Despite this, I think this is an excellent book to teach history, more easily than ready it from a standard text book. Echo is sympathetic, and the stories are sad.

Some reviewers have said their is not enough background on Echo. I don't think we need a lot of background. That is not the point. We need to learn about what it was like when these events happened, how unfair it was, and why things happened the way they did.

Highly recommended for schools and libraries in Canada, and perhaps in the States, as we need to learn about what happened in the past.

Thanks to Netgalley and Highwater Press for making this book available for an honest review.

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Going in, I admit that I made the mistake of not paying attention to the details and seeing that this was the second work in the "A Girl Called Echo Series." On top of that, as an American and thus someone who is a product of my country's school system, saying that I don't have the greatest grasp on Canadian history would be quite the understatement.

But even with all that going against me, I found that I was able to easily get a handle on the setting and its focus on a Metis girl learning about her heritage while clearly settling into a new home, and I was able to learn a lot myself in the process about what was plainly a major point in the history of Metis. To say the least, I consider that quite the testament to Katherena Vermette's storytelling skills (backed by Scott Henderson's great artwork). Now my appetite for Metis history has been stirred, and not only will I be on the lookout for the next book in the series, but I will keep watch and hope that book one (Pemmican Wars) crosses my path.

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A very brief (I need more!) historical fiction graphic novel about the Metis and settlements in Canada that focus on Echo, a girl who shifts back in time (a la Kindred) to what the deals were made. There was not a lot of prelude that helped place the story a little better and it would have been able to fill out the story a bit more.

These are the kinds of stories that need to be told more often and in the diversity of format that this one lends itself to. Indigenous stories are significant with the beauty of the graphic novel format it felt important in a way that a fictional narrative might not have. Can we have more of these, please?

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Great artwork and colorwork throughout. Engaging story and characters. I really enjoyed this one. Looking forward to more in the series.

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This is a very interesting graphic novel series. For starters, I love our main character, Echo. Her life is pretty much filled with struggle and pain, and you cant help but root for her. It's also very interesting seeing her live a split life and having to live in the modern day, doing normal things, and then seeing her go through things in the 19th century war torn Canada.

I really enjoyed the art style and I'd be interesting with continuing on with the series in the future.

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