This collection of seven stories honoring the northern regions of Canada and the Indigenous residents has been reprinted 
from the three-anthology series, Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, featuring these three authors with strong ties to the region and the people. Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley is of Inuit-Cree ancestry from Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. She is an Inuit scholar who studies world religions and cultures. Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, of Scottish-Mohawk ancestry, was born in southern Ontario, Canada and is a folklorist and fantasist specializing in magic, mythology, and Inuit lore. Richard Van Camp is a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, NWT. Tlicho are Dene First Nation people living in the Northwest Territories. He currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta not far from this reviewer and is a well-known storyteller, author, and educator.
Each of the entries in this new collection include new splash pages as an introduction to the stories but do not include the prefaces that accompanied the stories in their original publications. For this reason, I am offering some of the material included in the Moonshot anthologies for additional context.
All three awarding winning authors have shared their knowledge of traditional teachings, the history of Arctic shamanism and cosmology, and the joy of storytelling, and the awareness of the solid intersections of their rich backgrounds with the wider contemporary culture. The stories in this collection continue this practice, bringing awareness of non-Indigenous as well as Indigenous readers to the magic of the Canadian far northern regions. The various illustrators for the individual stories are not from the region but are well versed in the geography and culture of the people they are bringing to vivid life. The collection was published separately in two languages, English and Inuktitut. I will be discussing the English collection.
Burning Cold opens with prefaces explaining the authors’ objectives in writing these tales. Rachel and Sean explain that while much of what they create is based on traditional tales and figures, their stories are fiction immersed in traditional lore. However, they do not tend to offer the reader clues to which is which and, as they write, “You’ll just have to make a game at guessing which parts are exactly that [traditional lore], as opposed to flights of our fancy. In this sense, with a smile, but no joke, we are actually being quite traditional” (4). Richard, in his preface, contends that “comics and illustrated literature are the perfect ways to welcome readers of all ages into the grace, dignity, stories, and medicines of our culture” (6).
The first story, “Tlicho Naowa” by Van Camp, indicates a contemporary family blending the traditional ceremony with the trick and treat ceremony that both occur on October 31. The Dene ritual expresses love and respect to family members who are no longer alive as well as imploring the spirits of the Caribou people for a safe and plentiful upcoming hunting season. This is the significant time of year for Caribou herds and their migration in the area. Nicholas Burns’ colourful illustrations effectively illuminate the modern home and customs of the family, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, placing the reader warmly inside the family. The dialogue also highlights the Indigenous language of the area. The following story, also from the first volume of Moonshot, is an illustrated tale written by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and illustrated by menton3. The story evokes the danger presented by the traditional Qallupilik to the people, especially young children who wander too close to the edge of ice floes. The Qallupilik, at times formless, are known shapeshifters and child-snatchers and in this tale, it assumes the shape of a human female to collect a young female who taunted them, perhaps unknowingly. The white text is presented on black pages alternating with full page coloured atmospheric and striking illustrations.
The next three stories are from the second volume of Moonshot. Richard Van Camp’s ‘Water Spirits” continues the theme of the contemporary infused with traditional belief systems. The school field trip to the gold mine offers accurate information about the history of the mine as well as the implications of the poisoning of the waters that led to its demise. Within the tale, told by a fictional guide, is knowledge rarely shared outside of the culture. “The tradition of respecting the Spirits and never placing drinking cups directly on the ground as described in the story is typically told by Elders to youth, only in the spoken word, making this story a unique experience”. The Arctic fantasy tale “Winter’s Shell”, by the Qitsualik-Tinsleys, is told through the comic format with illustrations by Alexandria Neonakis. Several Inuit shamanic symbols are adapted in order to share teachings and world understanding not usually discussed openly in the culture but instead are shared through art, story, and aangakkuuniq (shamanism). The story and art evoke a feeling of mysticism and mystery and does not offer any immediate answers for the reader. This feeling of unexplained magic and wonder continues in Van Camp’s “Magic of Wolverines”. The Wolverine is a trickster spirit and to the Tlicho Dene, it represents an unending source of strength, beauty, and respect, the most important facets of life. This concise tale explains the authority of wolverines through narration boxes and the powerful illustrations by Scott Henderson.
The final two stories, from the third volume of Moonshot, demonstrate the power of belief and living and environmental knowledge of the people of the far north. “Waterward”, told in prose by the Qitsualik-Tinsleys in white text on a black background, is a dark, disturbing, and ominous tale that is effectively accompanied by the haunting full-page illustrations of Sadekaronhes Esquivel. The final tale by Van Camp is filled with colour and hope, bringing the collection of tales full circle with the distribution of meat from a successful caribou hunt. The hunt was apparently a success due to the Sky People, whose lights danced in the night sky. For readers who are familiar with Van Camp’s previous stories about Benny and his hometown of Fort Smith will recognize some of the main characters in the story creatively illustrated by Kyle Charles, a Cree illustrator now living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Although these stories are reprinted with additional splash pages instead of the introductory material of the original, the fact that they are presented as a united whole provides the reader with a more intense reading experience and understanding of the environment, mystic, power, people, and the culture of the Canadian far North. Highly recommended for library collections of Indigenous materials, Canadian materials, and world views.
i. Moonshot, Vol. 1, page 122.
ii. Moonshot, Vol. 2, page 95.
iii. Moonshot, Vol 2, page 78.
Burning Cold An Inuit and Dene Comics Collection Vol.
By Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, and Richard Van Camp,
Art by Various
Arvaaq Press, 2024
ISBN: 9781774506547
Publisher Age Rating: 12-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Creator Representation: Canadian, Dogrib Dene, Inuit,
Character Representation: Canadian, Dene, First Nations or Indigenous, Inuit,
