A preview of the “Xwemalhkwu Hero Stories” graphic novel.
The “Remember” Comics Project is an ongoing collaboration between Education without Border, the UBC Comics Studies Cluster (CSC), Homalco media personality Tchadas Leo, and the Homalco First Nation.
This project is working with Indigenous cartoonists Alina Pete, Gord Hill, and Valen Onstine to create these three short comics on the traditional knowledge and cultural practices of the Homalco First Nation.
The “Remember” Comics Project pairs Indigenous cartoonists with archival recordings from the “Remember” Podcast to develop three short comics about Elder’s stories of the Bute Inlet.
Produced in collaboration between Education without Borders (EwB), the Homalco First Nation in Campbell River, and 100.7 The Raven, the “Remember” podcast plays clips of archival recordings of Elders from the Homalco First Nation. Each clip explores life in Bute Inlet in decades past, with elders recalling their childhood, the history of the Bute Inlet, traditional customs and storytelling traditions of the Homalco First Nation, and important people in the community. The podcast hosts then discuss the recordings, providing definitions and a modern perspective for listeners.
The “Remember” Comics Project uses comic art to visually re-present three selections of the podcast’s recordings to produce graphic materials that engage with the podcast’s themes. The short 8-12-page comics will complement the podcast’s conversation around its collection of recordings to produce supplementary material that would be ideal for inclusion in K-12 education. The Remember Comics Project will thus add to the body of work produced by the “Remember” Podcast, seeking to continue to give voice to First Nations Elders from Vancouver Island and the surrounding areas but this time through comic art.
In November 2023, project collaborators and artists participated in a one-day site visit and 6-hour boat tour of Bute Inlet, during which Chief Darren Blaney and Elder Bill Blaney shared stories about their childhood, the history of the inlet, and their storytelling traditions.
This project is generously cosponsored by Education without Borders, the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies (CENES), the UBC Comics Studies Cluster, the UBC Popular Media for Social Change Research Excellence Cluster, the UBC Community Engagement Office, and the Narratives Group in the UBC Centre for Migration Studies.
News Media Spotlight the CSC’s “Remember” Project
The “Remember” Comics Project is a collaboration between the UBC Comics Studies Cluster, Indigenous media personality and award-winning podcaster Tchadas Leo, and the nonprofit Education without Borders that combines the rich oral histories of the Homalco First Nation with the vibrant visuality of the comics medium. The project began in Summer 2023, and with the first drafts […]