Borders

THOMAS KING | Cherokee

NATASHA DONOVAN | Métis

  • English

  • borders, colonialism, anti-Indigenous racism, Blackfoot family, nationality

  • Grades 5 +

On a trip to visit his older sister, who has moved away from her community to Salt Lake City, a young boy and his mother are posed a question with a not-so-simple answer. “Are you Canadian,” the border guards ask, “or American?”

 “Blackfoot.”

When border guards refuse to accept their citizenship, mother and son wind up trapped in limbo between colonial nations that do not recognize who they are. This graphic-novel adaptation of one of Thomas King’s most celebrated short stories, Borders explores themes of identity and belonging, and the impact of a colonial borders for Indigenous people.