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Saturday, December 11, 2021

Borders, written by Thomas King and illustrated by Natasha Donovan. Little, Brown and Company, Hachette. 2021. $21.99 ages 9 and up


"Morning, Ma'am.

Good morning. 

Where you heading? 

Salt Lake City. 

Purpose of your visit? 

Visit my daughter. 

Citizenship? 

Blackfoot."

The following is an excerpt from a recent interview with Thomas King: 

"The only reason I revisited this one was because there was interest in turning it into a graphic novel. None of my stories and the phrase “graphic novel” had ever been in the same sentence before, so the possibility of Borders becoming one was intriguing."

Mr. King's original short story was published in 1993, in a collection called One Good Story, That One: Stories. It is a family tale that will resonate with middle years and high school readers today. Its relevance has never changed. 

A boy and his mother are unhappy when his sister decides to move to Salt Lake City to start a new life there. They reluctantly, and quite angrily, take her to the border and let her go. Then one day, his mother decides to make a visit to Utah. Their preparations for the trip complete, they leave their Blackfoot reserve and head to the border. 

At the border, she is asked to declare her citizenship. Her reply surprises the border guard: Blackfoot. He is polite and accommodating, asking the other necessary questions before returning to her declaration of citizenship. She repeats her answer; he goes back inside to bring out another guard. They are taken inside where she is eventually questioned again by an inspector. 

"In the end, she told us that if my mother 
didn't declare her citizenship, we would 
have to go back to where we came from.
"

The rules are the same at the Canadian border. It is, obviously, a standoff. The two spend days in limbo between the two crossings. All the while, readers experience discomfort as there seems no solution. That is exactly the point, as the mother demonstrates how powerfully she feels about identity and family. It requires response from readers as they must sit, think, and learn. It is a story seen from the younger brother's perspective ... someone who is very close to their own age.   

In this new look at Thomas King's much-admired short story, he dedicates its publication to those "who understand that the border is a figment of someone else's imagination". The art captures all of the emotions felt by the boy as he recalls moments with his sister in the past, wonders if he will see her again, and spends time with his mother as she quietly demands to be heard. It is powerful, and meaningful, requiring readers to come to their own conclusions. 

In back matter, Thomas King also offers a list of Native writers whose work he admires. Readers who want to know more can look here for their next story: 

"When I was a young man, there were very few Native writers. Now there is a landscape full of good writers from various backgrounds. To mention a few is to suggest the rest. Writers such as Tanya Talaga, Eden Robinson, Marilyn Dumont, Lee Maracle, Drew Hayden Taylor, Jesse Wente, Richard Wagamese, Tomson Highway, Joshua Whitehead, Basil Johnston, Cherie Dimaline, Michelle Good, Waubgeshig Rice, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, and the list goes on. I used to pride myself on having read every Native writer who published a story or a poem or a book. That is no longer true, and it hasn’t been true for a while now. Such a happy occurrence."

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