“7 Generations: A Plain Cree Saga”, created by David Robertson and Scott Henderson, uses both illustration and writing to depict the different mental struggles of Indigenous peoples today, and how familial bonds can affect this. The graphic novel starts with an Indigenous man attempting suicide, and his mother rushing to find him. The story follows his mother, and eventually his father attempting to reach through to their suicidal son, the father using storytelling as a way to ask for forgiveness for abandoning him from a young age. However, it can be drawn that both Edwin and his father, James, have a lot of unhealed trauma themselves. Through the entirety of this graphic novel, the text displays the unstable but seemingly improved relationship between Edwin and his father, reflecting how they each respond to the feeling of loss, by isolating oneself.
Edwin’s feeling of emotionally shielding himself from the world, and overall happiness, because of his father's absence, is depicted from the very beginning of the story. Their lack of a relationship leaves Edwin without a father figure, which has left him to turn to suicide. While …show more content…
In Edwin’s life, he went through a range of ways to respond to his father’s absence, ranging from denial or confusion, to anger and detachment. However, as the story progresses, readers are able to see how James' past hardships explains why he felt the need to leave, but the audience, as well as James, recognize that he still must be present for his family. The storyline of this graphic novel illustrates how both Edwin and James have experienced loss in some way in their lives. Edwin, losing his father figure, and James, grieving over his brother. The two men relate, but also differ, in how they respond to it, and how this should not define their
Edwin’s feeling of emotionally shielding himself from the world, and overall happiness, because of his father's absence, is depicted from the very beginning of the story. Their lack of a relationship leaves Edwin without a father figure, which has left him to turn to suicide. While …show more content…
In Edwin’s life, he went through a range of ways to respond to his father’s absence, ranging from denial or confusion, to anger and detachment. However, as the story progresses, readers are able to see how James' past hardships explains why he felt the need to leave, but the audience, as well as James, recognize that he still must be present for his family. The storyline of this graphic novel illustrates how both Edwin and James have experienced loss in some way in their lives. Edwin, losing his father figure, and James, grieving over his brother. The two men relate, but also differ, in how they respond to it, and how this should not define their