Indiginerds

Gr 8 Up–Eleven modern Indigenous led and created stories comprise this anthology. While the topics include language, music, tabletop and video gaming, activism, and other subject matters, ultimately, the stories are about forming and maintaining connections to others, the self, and a shared sense of culture. Although some stories touch upon issues such as alcohol and substance abuse, domestic abuse, and harmful stereotypes, most focus on the fruits of fostering creativity, determination, resilience, and building community. Characters throughout the collection are multidimensional and the dialogue feels natural in both its cadence and subject matter. Art styles vary wildly: the queer romance story “Missed Pow Wow Connection” uses rainbow-hued pop art backgrounds and makes use of gradients to create visual interest while keeping backgrounds simple enough to center the characters. The activism story “Airwave Pirates,” meanwhile, features a smudged chalk look; linework is heavy and rough, fine details are sparse, and the coloring is bold but loosely applied, nicely capturing the story’s messages of prioritizing expression over unnecessary regulations and rules. Primary characters are Indigenous of varying skin tones, while secondary and background characters appear to be Black and white. Queer representation is present in multiple stories, and body types of various shapes and sizes are presented without related commentary. Back matter includes concept and development artwork, as well as contributor bios.