The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book

Review:  The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book by Gord Hill

By Tara-Michelle ZiniukIn The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book, Vancouver-based writer Gord Hill blends his visual and literary talents to tell the story of aboriginal life since the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in 1492. If the book’s title isn’t enough to tell you what perspective Hill, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, is taking, the names of the book’s three sections certainly will: Invasion, Assimilation and Resistance.

“Invasion” introduces readers to Columbus’ “discovering” and Christianizing the Americas, his seeing the generosity of the indigenous population as a weakness. “Assimilation” delves into the effort to create worker-consumers out of First Nations populations, the introduction of European-style housing, the Indian Act and residential schools, and ultimately the creation of a dependency in the aboriginal community on state funding.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.