Last night, I attended the book launch of Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story, a graphic novel by David Robertson and illustrated by Scott Henderson.

Sugar Falls tells the true story of Betty Ross, an Elder from Cross Lake First Nation who is a residential school survivor. Betty’s story is remarkable and at the same time far too common of Aboriginal children forced into the residential school system. At the age of 4 or 5, Betty was thrown out by her own mother (herself a victim of residential schools) in the middle of winter. Betty managed to find shelter under an overturned canoe, until a man came along and found her. She found peace with her new adoptive family, until she was once again uprooted and put into a residential school.

In Sugar Falls, Betty shares her story with Daniel, a teenage boy completing a homework assignment, and April, Betty’s granddaughter. We learn of the horrors she witnessed, the abuses she endured, and the spiritual teachings from her adoptive father that helped her survive.

Sugar Falls continues on the themes addressed in Robertson’s previous graphic novels, The Life of Helen Betty Osborne and the 7 Generations series. All deal with different aspects of colonization and shows how both Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals continue to struggle with its legacy.

For Robertson, these books are not the end goal — they are the vehicle through which he educates others about these important histories. He continues this work through various speaking engagements and reaches a diverse audience — from young to old, Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal to new Canadians — all of whom still have a lot to learn about Canada's colonial past.

To learn more about David Robertson, visit Darobertson.ca. His books can be purchased through HighWater Press, a trade imprint of educational publisher Portage & Main Press.