This Place podcast, hosted by Rosanna Deerchild, explores 150 years of Indigenous resistance and resilience
This Place is available on CBC Listen and wherever you get your podcasts
Rosanna Deerchild hosts the CBC Books podcast, This Place.
The 10-episode podcast, launched in 2021 and adapted from the bestselling graphic novel anthology of the same name, tells 150 years of Canadian history through Indigenous stories, music and more.
It features Indigenous creators — including David. A Robertson, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette and Brandon Mitchell — and incorporates elements of fantasy and magical realism to examine Canadian history from Confederation to now.
The entire series of This Place is available now on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Rosanna Deerchild on creating This Place
When I was first approached with the idea of turning a comic book into a podcast, I was curious to say the least.
How do you turn a visual medium into an audio one? More specifically, how do you turn a graphic anthology about Canadian history into a podcast? And not just history, but stories about Indigenous resistance and resilience that many Canadians had not heard of before.
The source material is certainly intriguing. This Place: 150 Years Retold is a young adult graphic anthology, published in 2019 by Highwater Press. This award-winning collection paired Indigenous authors with illustrators to create 10 stories spanning 150 years of our shared history.
Writers including Chelsea Vowel, Katherena Vermette and David A. Robertson created stunning depictions of heroes — like Métis matriarch Annie Bannatyne and war vet Francis Pegamahgabow — and gave us a peek into our future.
Well, who could turn that opportunity down?
Produced by an all-Indigenous team, Eva Grant, Jacquie Black and me, Rosanna Deerchild, This Place is an original 10-part adaptation revealing Indigenous heroes, battles, triumphs and traditions which live outside and beyond the national story we have been taught.
From the dusty streets of Red River Settlement to the trenches of war to the Pines of Oka and 150 years into our future, This Place will take you on an audio journey with me, Rosanna Deerchild, your time-guide storyteller.
This Place is not just a retelling of Canadian history, it is a reclamation of Indigenous history.- Rosanna Deerchild
A mix of dramatization and author interviews, this podcast brings a new historical perspective of "this place" we call Canada to life.
This Place is not just a retelling of Canadian history, it is a reclamation of Indigenous history.
These are our stories. Our stories tell us where we come from. They tell us how far we've come. And how far we still need to go.
We hope you take this journey with us.
Episode 1: Annie of Red River
Annie Bannatyne was a formidable Métis business owner and important civic figure in Winnipeg who played an instrumental role in fundraising and founding the Winnipeg General Hospital. She also inspired a young Louis Riel with a public act of resistance — highlighted in this story.
The comic was written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, with colour by Donovan Yaciuk. The story was adapted by Rosanna Deerchild.
Episode 2: Tilted Ground
Author Sonny Assu explores the journey of his great-great-grandfather, Chief Billy Assu, who was one of the most respected and influential potlatch chiefs in Ligwilda'xw history.
The comic was written by Sonny Assu and illustrated by Kyle Charles, with colour by Scott A. Ford. The story was adapted by Rosanna Deerchild.
Episode 3: Red Clouds
The story of Wahsakapeequay, a woman who was believed to have been possessed by windigo and the spiritual leader and his brother who were charged with her murder. Inspired by the 1907 arrest of Jack Fiddler, also known as Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow, and his brother Joseph for the alleged murder of a windigo. The story is told by Wahsakapeequay and the windigo.
The comic was written by Jen Storm and illustrated and coloured by Natasha Donovan. The story was adapted by Jacquie Black.
Episode 4: Peggy
An Ojibwa from the Parry Island Band, Francis "Peggy" Pegahmagabow is one of the most decorated Indigenous soldiers in Canadian history. This story follows Peggy as he demonstrates bravery and skill on the battlefields of the First World War, only to return home and be denied fair treatment.
The comic was written by David A. Robertson and illustrated and coloured by Natasha Donovan. The story was adapted by Rosanna Deerchild.
Episode 5: Rosie
Set in the early 1940s in Foxe Basin, Nunavut, "Rosie" is a nod to shamanism — a secret history of Inuit. A young Inuk girl is aided by her Watcher, a spirit protector, in claiming her place in the world through the many names given to her.
The comic was written by Rachel & Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and illustrated and coloured by GMB Chomichuk. The story was adapted by Eva Grant.
Episode 6: Nimkii
It's 1990 on the Wabaseemoong Reserve, and a group has just blocked the Children's Aid Society from entering their community and taking any more of their children. After the confrontation, Sixties Scoop survivor Nimkii shares with her daughter the story of her life, and the promise she made to a little boy.
The comic was written by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and illustrated by Ryan Howe and Jen Storm, with colour by Donovan Yaciuk. The story was adapted by Rosanna Deerchild.
Episode 7: Like a Razor Slash
It's 1975 in Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories, and a young Dene Chief named Frank T'Seleie is about to change the course of history. Follow Frank's fight to stop the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline — from his youth, to his days as a band administrator, to his celebrated speech at the Berger Inquiry, which is remembered as an integral part of the efforts to protect and defend the lands within the Northwest Territories.
The comic was written by Richard Van Camp and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, with colour by Scott A. Ford. The story was adapted by Eva Grant.
Episode 8: Migwite'tmeg: We Remember It
It's the early 1980s in Listuguj, Que., a Mi'kmaw community nestled between the Appalachian Mountains and the mighty Restigouche River. The Mi'kmaq have been fishing these waters since time immemorial, following the natural cycle of the salmon. The government seeks to disrupt that cycle, but the Mi'kmaq push back to defend their way of life.
The comic was written by Brandon Mitchell and illustrated by Tara Audibert, with colour by Donovan Yaciuk. The story was adapted by Rosanna Deerchild.
Episode 9: Warrior Nation
This isn't your average coming-of-age story. It's the summer of 1990 and apathetic Anishinaabe teen Washashk is on a road trip with his mom Raven. She wants to support the land defenders at Kanesatake. Washashk wants to go to the movies, but it's in The Pines that he'll find his place in the world.
The comic was written by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair and illustrated and coloured by Andrew Lodwick. The story was adapted by Eva Grant.
Episode 10: kitaskînaw 2350
The year is 2350 and the future is Indigenous. 15-year-old Wâpanacâhkos, a knowledge-keeper in training, is sent back in time by the Council of Elders to the 21st century. Her journey will shape Indigenous-settler relations on kitaskînaw — our Earth — for generations to come.
This story was written by Chelsea Vowel and illustrated by Tara Audibert, with colour by Donovan Yaciuk. The story was adapted by Eva Grant.
Corrections
- An earlier version of this post said that the arrest of Jack Fiddler, which is in the episode Red Clouds, happened in 1906. In the This Place graphic novel, it happens in 1907. However there is no consensus in the historical record. We have gone with 1907 for consistency with our source material.Jul 07, 2021 7:35 AM ET
