David Alexander Robertson

BASED ON A TRUE STORY* A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, his friend's grandmother, who tells him her story. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy was soon adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changed. Betsy was taken away to a residential school. There she was forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalled the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls -- words that gave her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive. Sugar Falls is based on the true story of Betty Ross, Elder from Cross Lake First Nation. We wish to achnowledge, with the utmost gratitude, Betty's generosity in sharing her story. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Sugar Falls goes to support the bursary program for The Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation.

A Residential School Story

Sugar Falls

Scars introduce White Cloud, a young Plains Cree boy, in the year 1870, when the last great smallpox epidemic swept through the prairies. After witnessing, one by one, the death of his entire family from the illness, he summons the strength to journey on to find a new home and deliver himself from the terrible disease. But will he make it? Scars follows White Cloud and the people he encounters, as he struggles to survive against impossible odds. The book also reconnects readers to Edwin, a lost young man on his own quest who was introduced in book 1, Stone. By learning about the bravery and perseverance of his ancestor White Cloud, Edwin summons his own courage and travels to confront the main source of his despair: the father he barely knows. Scars is the second book in the graphic novel series, 7 Generations. Books in the series: Book 1: Stone (published) introduces Edwin, a young man who must discover his family s past if he is to have any future. Book 3: Ends/Begins (forthcoming) features the story of Edwin s father and his residential-school experience. Book 4: The Pact (forthcoming) is a story of redemption, as father and son reconcile their past and begin a new journey.

Scars

As the pain and loss of James’s residential school experiences follow him into adulthood, his life spirals out of control. Haunted by guilt, he is unable to maintain a relationship with Lauren and their son Edwin. Edwin, mired in his own pain, tries to navigate past the desolation of his fatherless childhood. As James tries to heal himself he begins to realize that, somehow, he may save his son’s life – as well as his own. When father and son finally meet, can they heal their shattered relationship, and themselves, or will it be too late?

The Pact

GMB Chomichuk

Based on the story by Iskwé and Erin Leslie May, a young teenage girl, traverses the city streets, finding keepsakes in different places along her journey. When May and her kookum make these keepsakes into a necklace, it opens a world of danger and fantasy. While May fights against a terrible reality, she learns that there is strength in the spirit of those who have passed. But will that strength be able to save her? A story of tragedy and beauty, Will I See? illuminates the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Will I See?

Stone introduces Edwin, a young man who must discover his family’s past if he is to have any future. Edwin learns of his ancestor Stone, a young Plains Cree man, who came of age in the early 19th century. Following a vision quest, Stone aspires to be like his older brother, Bear, a member of the Warrior Society. But when Bear is tragically killed during a Blackfoot raid, Stone, the best shot and rider in his encampment, must overcome his grief and avenge his brother’s death. Only then can he begin a new life with his bride, Nahoway. It is Stone’s story that drives Edwin to embark on his own quest. Stone is the first book in the graphic novel series, 7 Generations. Forthcoming books in this series are Book 2: Scars, the story of the orphan White Cloud, set against the smallpox epidemic of 1870-1871. Book 3: Ends/Begins, the story of Edwin’s father, and the residential school saga. Book 4: The Pact, a story of redemption, as father and his son reconcile their past and begin a new journey.

Stone

Madison Blackstone

Helen Betty Osborne dreamed of becoming a teacher. Sadly, her dream never came true. Helen left her home in Norway House, Manitoba, to attend Guy Hill Residential School in 1969. In September 1971, she entered Margaret Barbour Collegiate in The Pas, Manitoba. Two months later, on November 13, 1971, she was brutally murdered by four young, white men. Years later, the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry concluded that her murder was the result of racism, sexism, and indifference. The Life of Helen Betty Osborne is a graphic novel about Betty's life up to that tragic November day. Her story is told by a young boy named Daniel. The events in Betty's story are true. The events in Daniel's story represent our ability to change, learn, and grow.

The Life of Helen Betty Osborne

When Cole Harper is compelled to return to Wounded Sky First Nation, he finds his community in chaos: a series of shocking murders, a mysterious illness ravaging the residents, and reemerging questions about Cole’s role in the tragedy that drove him away 10 years ago. With the aid of an unhelpful spirit, a disfigured ghost, and his two oldest friends, Cole tries to figure out his purpose, and unravel the mysteries he left behind a decade ago. Will he find the answers in time to save his community? Strangers is the first novel in The Reckoner series by David Alexander Robertson, award–winning writer, and author of HighWater Press’ acclaimed children’s book When We Were Alone.

David Alexander Robertson

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