Oh my god ya'll, I had better see this on absolutely everybody's TBR.
This is amazing, this is important, and this is wonderfully encapturing. From the many different art styles, I got to experience, to the rich story-telling from different authors, reading this was an experience I've never encountered before.
This book is so important, to have been written and to be read in turn. We are coming to see a lot more diversity in fiction, such as a lot more books written by authors of colour about main characters of colour, with many a supporting cast featuring POC, however the minority group I see the least would have to be indigenous people. This is extremely unfortunate, as genocide and colonialism have made generations of Indigenous peoples voices unheard, and we can still see the effects of this today, as we can with any other minority group in society, but especially Indigenous communities and their lack of content written about them. This book specifically delves into this, and as a result, most of the stories told are relatively sad but are telling the stories of important Indigenous figures which stories have been silenced by forced assimilation for so long.
I've decided to highlight some of my favourite stories that I read.
Red Clouds by Jen Storm.
This story was tragic, beautifully told by some amazing and haunting artwork. As is unfortunately common in stories told about Indigenous people, the story revolves a woman who is tragically killed. However, I liked the question throughout the novel revolving around the difference between the Queen's laws and the laws the Indigenous people follow and govern by themselves, should white man's law be used to judge an act that happens within Indigenous land and jurisdiction? It was a concept I enjoyed thinking about extensively.
Peggy by David Robertson.
This one made me cry like you wouldn't believe. This story explores Indigenous men being summoned to war despite not actually being allowed to have any decent human rights. It also centers around one of the greatest snipers during the war. Our main character is brave and inspirational, we get to see him influence his fellow soldiers in his ways when the beliefs and traditions of Indigenous people were being threatened by bigotry and fear. This story explores a man who risked his life to serve, and serve well, get rewarded and recognized with metals, and still struggles to be granted simple things as an Indigenous person.
Nimkii by Kateri Aikwenzie-Damm.
This story is the saddest one by far, I bawled my eyes out reading this. This story follows a woman telling her daughter her story of being ripped from her loving mother at a young age and forced into a residential school, then to be circled around from home to home in the adoptive system. The numbers of Indigenous children in foster care compared to white children is shocking and was a bitter reality for a lot of children after surviving residential school. If you thought a residential school was the worst to happen to Indigenous people, this book may be a rude awakening.

This is an incredible volume. The collection of stories, from a fantastic collection of writers and artists is a masterpiece. The weaving together of storytelling, art, history and opinion is just wonderful.

As an educator, I would gladly add this to my humanities courses. Perhaps we'd study the whole thing, perhaps we'd use it as a way to look at various aspects of Indigenous history in Canada. It's unflinching and honest in its look at the history of our nation.

In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, there is a thread of hope that runs through this collection. It reflects past, present and future.

This Place, 150 Years Retold, written by 11 different authors/artists, is a collection of ten short stories about the indigenous people of Canada and their sad dealings with the governments and locals through time. Some of the art work is full scale color and detail, while others parts are presented in black and white with more of a minimalist approach.
The struggles are reminiscent of the Native American Indians in the lower 48 states, where they deal with changes in their status seemingly every time a new government is elected. Everything from land rights to fishing rights is presented.
In the story called Nimkii, the artwork is shown in black and white. During an emotional scene, the boy lifts his shirt but instead of seeing whip marks or scars, it looks like a normal back with no injuries. The narrative surrounding this would suggest otherwise, so that was confusing to me. I am not certain if the picture was complete. Also, in some of the stories the font used is so small it is difficult to make out the narrative.
Anthologies like this can be rather like a two-edged sword, in my opinion. There is a need for the people of the country to understand what happened in the past, but not to the point of creating even more divisions between people than there are currently. Hopefully it can and will be used to help everyone move forward in being committed to treating all people the same no matter what their backgrounds. Recommended.

The artwork is simply stunning, spanning a wide variety of styles from a large number of artists. I’m impressed by the scope of the project - tackling such a long and varied history is an impressive feat. It’s a great history book to be sure, especially due to its unique storytelling format.

In all the hoopla about Canada's sesquicentennial, where were the indigenous peoples? Where was their celebration? Was there even a celebration, since as this book points out, in story after story, Canada has done everything in its power to make sure the native peoples are corralled, stripped of their tradition, their language, their land, every change they got.

Each contributor to this volume draws on stories of the Metis, Inuit, and First Nations, that happened in the last 150 years. And Chelsea Vowel, looks back on things that have happened, from the future, when the land has been restored.

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This is an amazing book, packed with stories based on fact, of times that Metis, First Nations and Inupiat have fought back. Of the residential schools, to the 60s scoop, to land and water rights protests.

Highly recommended to schools, libraries and individuals.

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

"This Place" delivers spectacularly with its diverse collection of gorgeously illustrated stories, Although as an American my grasp of Canadian history is exactly as weak as one would expect, I still enthusiastically devoured the anthology. The stories of the indigenous peoples of the Americas overall are still stories that one doesn't get to hear all too often, so I find any opportunity to hear and read this often-ignored perspective is a welcome one irregardless of any official borders. When it comes out, "This Place" will have a spot eagerly waiting for it in my library's graphic novel collection.