Lynn Johnston's Mtigwaki

Long-time readers of Indian Comics Irregular know that I used to read newspaper comic strips regularly. For a few years, I picked the best and worst strips of the year for their Native aspects. I believe Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse won 2-3 times--mainly because of the strips set in Mtigwaki.

Here's a recap of Johnston's impressive effort to feature First Nations people in her comic strips.

Mtigwaki (Land of Trees)In 2004, Elizabeth Patterson moved to a First Nations community called Mtigwaki in Northern Ontario to teach at a small school. You can read about her adventure in our archives, or in our collection books She's Turning Into One of Them and Teaching...is a Learning Experience.

Lynn's introduction to Mtigwaki:

I wanted to create an imaginary Ojibway community in Northern Ontario that would be true to life, giving readers a realistic view of what living in a First Nation community is like. In so doing, I wanted to show Elizabeth's world change for the better, with the challenge of teaching multiple grades in an unfamiliar environment, rich with Canadian history.The Mtigwaki Strips

Lynn Awarded Debwewin CitationFor introducing a fictional Anishinabek Nation community into a comic strip published daily in over 2,000 newspapers in 22 countries in eight languages, Lynn Johnston has been named the 2004 recipient of the Debwewin Citation for excellence in Aboriginal-issues journalism.Comment:  Not bad for an Anglo woman working in the "funny pages." This shows what you can do if you care enough to do it right.

For more on the subject, see Native Comic Strips vs. Comic Books.