Painted in captivating rainbow colours and spanning 108 pages, JAJ: A Haida Manga gets off to a dramatic beginning.
The book, by award-winning Haida author and artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, tells a story of connection.
Aboard a sinking ship, young Norwegian mariner Johan Adrian Jacobsen, “promised much and given little” by those who hired him, is about to be stranded off the cold west coast.
Out of the darkness, an extended paddle from a Haida canoe is his saving grace.
So begins this tumultuous retelling of the first contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples off the coasts of Haida Gwaii.
Combining real and imagined storylines based on history – it’s a riveting page-turner that opens your eyes to the complex lives of indigenous peoples and the first island settlers.
“I thought if people could see the ‘other,’ whoever the other is, as a son or a daughter, that would go a long way to humanizing and alleviating the violence.”
The story is an invitation to humanize all involved in the conflicts that ensue.
The story doesn’t alleviate any responsibility for the actions of any characters.
However, it does create a depth of understanding for circumstances that pushed them in specific directions, as well as the many commonalities between them.
Author Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas spent many hours researching the book and was interested in how many relatable experiences there were in the lives of these historical figures.
“I discovered that, like myself, [Jacobson] comes from a small fishing village. His family would harvest seabird eggs for sale and eating, and I’ve done the same,” he told the Canadian Press.
An encounter between Jacobson and one of Yahgulanaas’s real-life ancestors, George, is a key part of the narrative.
Yahgulanaas’s work combines a childlike wonder and wittiness with serious tones that leave readers flipping pages.
Every page contributes to some hard questions but also focuses on establishing common ground for resolutions.
“It’s the Haida belief that if you make friends first, if you establish the human relationship first, then those difficult questions can be resolved much easier.”
That’s just one thing the pages contribute to.
If unravelled, all the book’s pages combine to form a beautiful mural depicting a creature that recalls an old Haida weaving design.
Putting the whole story together, JAJ is a stunning visual experience and an invitation to a conversation.
It’s a conversation that’s been long overdue.
