Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story

by David Alexander Robertson

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.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Indigenous, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Canada, Comics, Middle Grade

40 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2011

About the author

DAVID A. ROBERTSON is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

So yes indeed, David Alexander Robinson's "own voice" residential school graphic novel Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story (and based on what Cree Elder Betsy Ross actually experienced at a government mandated and Catholic Church run residential school as a child) might generally be rather scanty on textual expansion and detail. But truth be told, anyone who would even remotely consider Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story as therefore and somehow being meant as a basic (and also thus of course gently depicted) picture book for younger children is in my humble opinion most certainly and woefully misdirected and misinformed.

For while David Alexander Robinson's text and Scott B. Henderson's accompanying and starkly expressive black and white illustrations are definitely basic and simple in their execution and in their expression, this very sparseness and that Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story actually often just seems to present a totally horrible horrible horrible list of cultural genocide (of Canadian government mandated cultural genocide), of First Nations children being forcefully wrenched from their families and their communities, of physical, emotional, and even at times sexual abuse (and all meant as a tool to be taking the "Indian" out of First Nations children and in the name of God at that), to and for me, this is actually a much more poignant representation and condemnation than a considerably more expansive story and explanation would be, because readers are in fact coming totally face to face with the absolute horror of those residential schools and that there is (and happily so) no way for us to hide away from this and to even in a tiny and minuscule manner try to believe that residential school was not absolute and utter torture, totally abusive and for Canada's First Nations also very much akin and alike to what Concentration Camps were in Nazi Germany.

Highly recommended and I do in fact also and strongly believe that Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story should absolutely be mandatory reading in Canadian classrooms and for EVERY Canadian student above the age of twelve (and with no exemptions granted with regard to this either, in other words, with Sugar Falls: a Residential School Story there in my opinion should absolutely be no way for students to be permitted to excuse themselves from having to read this very important, but yes and of course, also exceedingly painful and horrifying graphic novel).

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story of the residential school experience. This story is important and needs to be told. This is a good introduction.
Written for a younger audience and not very detailed. A good introduction but not very informative due to the shortness of the book.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to talk to your kids about residential schools, this is a great graphic novel to do it. Read the book first, there is allusion to sexual violence. There is abuse. Residential schools were violent. This book, although a tough read, is a good conversation starter. It should be part of school curriculum. It is a part of our history.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sugar Falls is set up as a fictional narrative, but is based on a real residential school experience. It is short, to the point, and informative.

The story is relayed in a way that introduces the topic without shying away from the truth but also without getting too graphic. It would be ideal for teenagers being introduced to the topic, but definitely not for younger children. The art is moving, and adds to the heartbreakingly raw feel of it all. I did wish there was a bit more to it, but it was good for its length.

I would recommend it for teenagers and up looking to read residential school experiences, especially in a comic format. I am definitely interested in more from the writer.

[Geraldine (geraldinereads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick and powerful read. I’m really surprised that more people haven’t read this! More people need to be informed about residential schools and what indigenous people went through. If you’re interested in learning more, check out one of my favorite podcasts Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartbreaking story. Residential schools did so much damage, and the ripple effects continue to be felt. This is a shameful chapter in US and Canadian history, and far too few know about it. This short graphic novel would be a good introduction to that history.

[Jennifer]

Read for tutoring

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Alexander Robertson is a simple, short story in comic format but it's also a story that needs to be told if Canada is to deal with the residential school nightmare.

This is the story. A teacher wants his students to write about the residential school past and asks his students to interview an elder. He wants these questions answered -

- How did it affect First Nations people and how does it affect them today?
- How does your understanding the system change your view of First Nations people? Should it? Why or why not?

Daniel asks his friend April, a Cree, for help. She takes him to meet her Kokom, her grandmother. Kokom tells the story of her experience with the Residential school system. It's a story she has kept to herself until this time.

The residential school system was devised by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church. First Nation children were taken from their families, I guess for some reason, but from what has actually turned up, these children were abused, both physically and sexually in many many cases. It was a horror that has not yet been completed. The Canadian government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate.

The story told in this short comic is based on the true life story of Elder Betty Ross of the Cross Lake Indian Residential School. It's a terrifying story. How these poor children could have their childhood's stolen from them. Many died in the schools, many suffered trauma that carried into their adult lives. It's a story that needs to be told, to be read, to be understood. Difficult story, sensitively told, beautifully drawn. (4.0 stars)

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This expertly illustrated graphic novel serves as an introduction to one woman’s abuse by the residential school system and its priests and nuns. There was nothing positive about these schools. My Anishnaabe community was relatively unscathed by this system but religion nonetheless eroded culture, language, and traditions from many generations of my family.

In 2018 we do not have a single fluent Anishnaabe speaker in our community which is a product of the colonial policies and attempts at assimilation over hundreds of years and are what fueled the residential school system.

I would recommend this book to highschool aged students and history teachers willing to challenge their students will uncomfortable past abuse. As an introduction, it is great. I have heard these stories many times and I continue to be shocked by these horrors to this day. They make me angry and confused but in the end I am hopeful the coming generations can survive and thrive.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional framing sequence about a high school kid writing a report about the Canadian residential school system and its forced assimilation of indigenous children brackets the true story of Betty Ross, an Elder of the Cross Lake First Nation in Manitoba, Canada. Ross is the victim of corporal punishment and sexual abuse at the hands of the school's nun and priest.

The story captures her feelings of disorientation and fear quite well, but assumes knowledge on the part of the reader as to why and how Ross is placed in this situation by the Canadian government. I would have welcomed more context in the story or in the end matter, especially since this seems to be aimed at educating a younger audience.

[Raegan Rocco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing juvenile graphic novel...

[Bibliomaniaque · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

BD allant droit au but nous permettant d'en savoir plus sur les pensionnats. Certes, elle est très courte, très simple, n'allant donc pas dans les détails et présentant une courte période. Cela dit, pour quelqu'un qui ne connaît pas ce pan sordide de l'histoire, c'est une bonne BD!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I wasn't a huge fan of the illustration style, this story is vitally important, and it is presented in a way that younger teen readers can engage with. SUGAR FALLS depicts straightforwardly the ugliness and wrongs that have been committed in the name of organized religion with regards to the kidnapping and abuse of Native American children in North America.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elder Betty Ross was on CTV news tonight where she shared her story of Sugar Falls and how she struggled with her identity as a survivor of the Residential Schools. As Canadians, we carry a haunting reminder of the mistakes of our past each and every day. A docudrama, Return to the Falls, which features Betty’s journey from childhood toward truth and reconciliation, is premiering April 16th at the Canadian Human Rights Museum.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good way to introduce middle school kids to the subject of residential schools. I brought this home to read for myself and then my grade six son saw that it was a graphic novel and asked to read it too. He read it straight through and asked some questions about the ending which I thought showed excellent engagement though possibly meant the story wasn’t as clear as the author intended it to be.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short read that covers a great deal of information about Canada's residential schools. Some mature scenes that could either be skipped over for younger teenage audiences; the book is definitely geared towards older teens.

[Hannah (hngisreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“We need to look at the past to teach others our stories, and then look forward together, with knowledge and healing.”

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly powerful true story of Elder Betty Ross’ experience living through trauma and abuse in a residential school in Canada. It is through her incredible resilience and strength that we have the honor of hearing her story and the horrific truth of what happened behind closed doors at these institutions.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book but at some points it felt rushed. It felt kind of short and not detailed enough. But I loved the framed narrative style, the symbolism of sugar falls and how it helped the protagonist through dark times and the ending where she becomes a Cree language consultant.

[Reading_seas0n · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW: Child abuse, child SA, kidnapping.

The catholic church and the government will never and can never be forgiven for what they did and do to the Indigenous people.

[Maude · Rating 5 out of 5]

une histoire qui doit être racontée pour libérer la parole de ces aînés. cette bd peut servir de porte d’entrée pour raconter la force et la résilience des enfants des Premières Nations face aux tortures des pensionnats.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The things that indigenous people went through in the 1800's and 1900's was just horrendous.

[theleighbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

I really like this as a story for a high school student. And I especially like that Robertson sat down with Betty Ross, an Elder from Cross Lake, to learn the story of Sugar Falls.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important and necessary read for junior and intermediate students. Excellent text to introduce and prompt discussions about residential schools.

[Natasha Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully accessible graphic novel to introduce younger audiences to the horrific reality of the residential school system. The narrative offers natural points for further questions, but also has staying power. It is a story that will linger. It’s a story that should be told, and accessible. It’s a wonderful idea to introduce the story to younger generations who may be tempted to believe the past is the past, without consequences. Past mistakes viewed with complacency are mistakes doomed to be repeated. Hopefully this graphic novel can make this shameful history relatable so they see its all too real human effect and endeavour to do better.

[Meepelous · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty unflinching look at not only the short term, but also a few of the long term effects of one woman's experience growing up with residential schools. As many other people note, this is a way to introduce younger people to this particular point in history.

Having read a number of graphic novels created by these two I really enjoyed this dramatic black and white style. It's interesting to see people grow and morph throughout their career. I definitely see Richerdson and Henderson on a good trajectory.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is gorgeous but too short. Just another one of those stories where you can't help but wonder, "What the f**k is wrong with white people?"

I am grateful for the courage of Elder Betty to tell her story. Her afterword reminds of the saying, "We are only as sick as our secrets." It may be that indigenous cultures are oral cultures because we know that their is truth and healing in the telling, and it is no small thing to actually listen.

White people, please feel bad and guilty about this stuff *quietly*.

[Rosanna Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sugar Falls is a powerful graphic novel based on the true story of Betty Ross, Elder from Cross Lake First Nation. The author is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation. Written for teens, it doesn't shy away from the abuses and horrors of the residential school system. It's a quick read, but it makes an impact and I think it would be an excellent addition to any library catalogue.

[Terence Metsikassus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the story and how it's made into a graphic novel .

[Barbara McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish it was a bit longer but I imagine this would be perfect for the age group it is intended for.