Three Feathers

The Debwe Series

by Richard Van Camp, Krystal Mateus (Illustrator)

Three young men -- Flinch, Bryce, and Rupert -- have vandalized their community. They are sent by its Elders to live nine months on the land as part of the circle sentencing process. There, the young men learn to take responsibility for their actions and acquire the humility required to return home. But will they be forgiven for what they've done?

Three Feathers explores the power and grace of restorative justice in one Northern Indigenous community and the cultural legacy that can empower future generations.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Indigenous, Young Adult, Canada, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Native American

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2015

About the author

A Dogrib (Tlicho) Dene from Fort Smith, NWT, Richard Van Camp is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. He is the author of the novel, The Lesser Blessed, a collection of short stories, Angel Wing Splash Pattern, and two children’s books with Cree artist, George Littlechild. His new baby book: Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns is the official selection of the Books for BC Babies program and is being given to every newborn baby in British Columbia in 2008. His new novel, Blessing Wendy, will be released in the fall of 2009 through Orca Book Publishers. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. You can visit Richard at his website: www.richardvancamp.org.

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting--I thought there would be more of a story developed around the characters. I think it serves best as a vision of what restorative justice from a First Nations perspective can look like--sort of what people are aiming for in the best set of circumstances.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Feathers was a nice story. It was a lovely example of rehabilitation and restorative justice. It was a lovely example of nature and tradition offering healing paths. The art was really pretty. I mostly just wished there was a little more. I wish there was more background for the plot and characters. I wish there was more to the meat of the story. What was there was nice, but I feel like I would have been more satisfied if there was more to be satisfied with.

I do intend to continue reading more from the Debwe series, more books from Richard Van Camp, and I would read more with the art of K. Mateus if she ever does another graphic novel.

[Krista Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in ten minutes, but it left me wishing it was a much longer story, as I would love more details and character development. Nonetheless, it was a ten-minute read that made me cry. I don't know a lot about restorative justice, but the example of it in this book is powerful.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library because the cover art was fantastic. I’ve read some of Van Camp’s picture books, and I’ve enjoyed them, but this one felt really disjointed and it jumped all over the place. The concept is great, but there was not enough here. The interior art was not as appealing as the cover, either.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great concept, but this really needed some flushing out.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely quick read. This story is very simple. It is more of a telling than showing story, which is odd for a graphic novel.

Two things I liked: 1) There are very few graphic novels with this content focus. The story focuses on how restorative justice helps three young men and their community as a whole. It's such a peaceful, perhaps overly-saccharin story. 2) One of the characters is deaf, which works very well in a graphic novel format. This was both clever and inclusive -- very cool.

Unfortunately, the characters in general are flat and the story's pacing is odd -- it felt very fast. It's quite a short story and the plot is best suited for a young audience with someone describing what's happening to fill in where the story jumps forward. This might also work for adult, non-native English speakers at an intermediate level who are demonstrating the ability to understand a different text format or basic understanding of a different culture. This isn't a good book for teaching more advanced reading skills, like prediction or inferring.

I don't think I would recommend this book, except to young readers for the simple cultural exposure and a basic introduction to the idea of restorative justice. For personal reading, I would say to skip it.

I would, however, enjoy reading a more fully-developed version of this story. I would want to know what the boy's 9 months are like and how their characters and attitudes change over time. I think this story would have great potential for interesting character development.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this book randomly on the new graphic novels shelves at the library and was attracted to the cover art. I liked the idea of the Debwe series -- a collection of "exceptional Aboriginal writings from across Canada," so I checked it out.

I think it would have been more accurate to call it promising writings. There was promise here, and an interesting story idea, but as a book it felt like I was only getting about 1/4 of the story. A tiny brief introduction, some interesting build-up, then BANG, the rest of the story is told from after the "action," looking back, and the lovely ending didn't feel at all earned.

Some of Van Camp's other books sound more developed I may check one of them out.

[Christine J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read! Graphic novel. Teaches about restorative justice in a great way.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read, took me about 10 minutes. It’s not really a story so much as it is a sort of idealized concept of restorative justice—we don’t see the main characters changing. In fact, it pretty much skips over those 9 months entirely. As an example of showing what restorative justice looks like, it’s good; from a narrative perspective it’s underwhelming. The whole thing felt like telling, not showing.

The artwork is very pretty, and the artist can use inks very well. There were a couple spots which looked amateurish (the text butting up against the edges of the speech bubble or going outside it; some backgrounds looked less refined) but there were other spots with a lot of wonderful detail.

As a side note, I found some of the wordless sections very difficult to follow or to understand what Van Camp was saying. The section where the one main character is arrested for breaking into Gabe’s home I had to reread three times to understand what was happening. The first time I thought it was his house and wondered why his grandpa was attacking him with a baseball bat; the second time I didn’t know why the police were there when he looked to be calling the ambulance; it was only on the third reading that it clicked. I understand graphic novels can leave some room for interpretation but it’s a weakness if it takes me that long to figure out what’s happening. (Also, the fact that we only find out Gabe’s name at the end doesn’t help—I just thought, ‘oh, that old man from the beginning is back. Wait, who’s Gabe?’)

Not bad, but I wouldn’t go in expecting a full, fleshed out novel, because it’s not. It’s an interesting conceptual look at an alternative justice system.

[Novels and Neckties - Kira Murasaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most confusing part was the permanent back and forth between Now and Then.
Definitely not what I expected.
Three boys are sent to an island as a punishment.
Why are those two elderly ppl there?
Why is there a big party when the boys come home?
What do their spirit names mean?
I wanted to get to know each boy individually better.

The good thing was the insight it gave into the values of the tribe. I learned a thing of two about their relationship with the land and how to contribute to society.

[Tara Million · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because the cover artwork is great and I like Richard Van Camp's writing. Unfortunately, the story and interior art were a bit thin in my opinion. Although there was a great central message about restorative justice, the plot and characterizations really needed to be fleshed out more. As far as graphic novels go, this isn't the strongest addition to the genre that I've ever read.

[Michelle Desouza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ‘read’ this book anticipating it could be a supplementary book in teaching English, and it likely could be, but not necessarily for mainstream readers. It would make an interesting piece in a visual literacy unit or for Core curriculum. It could work as a supplemental text with Touching Spirit Bear, but the ideas are quite the same.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Enjoyed this short graphic novel telling a story of restorative justice for 3 indigenous young men. My favourite aspect was the integration of Rupert's Deafness, and the whole page panels which had multiple elements interacting, using symbolism, and showing spiritual elements along with narrative.

[Jennifer]

I really liked this story. I like the idea of restorative justice, and I think it should be used more extensively, especially in the case of juvenile offenders.

[Nate Polsfut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great graphic novel that depicts the impact of Indigenous restoration justice. I enjoyed the illustrations and use of indigenous languages.

[Spencer Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and powerful story about restorative justice. You really fall in love with the characters in a short time.

[Toby Abrahamsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big graphic novel fan, and the illustrations confused me. The story was interesting, and I wish there was more to it.

[G_lalonde]

Three boys are sent to live of the land for a period of 9 months due to their actions within the community. Through this process, they grow and learn and become men.

[Darlene Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a powerful story simply told

Set on within the First Nations, written by a First Nation's author

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy read about Indigenous culture and their relation to the land.

[Brenda D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel illustrates the power of restorative practices, recognizing the strength of community and the diversity of Indigenous traditions in Canada.

[J.L. Slipak · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve previously read the other books in this series and I still feel the same way. Van Camp and Mateus make another outstanding team of storyteller and illustrator. In this book, the illustrations were done in black ink. I love Mateus’ style and clarity and how the artwork compliments the story so well.

[Laura (ローラ) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed with both art and story. The story seemed to try to represent modern cultural identity -- and yet the art was a poor reflection of it. This would have been more effective and evocative had it been illustrated using some of the visual tradition of the indigenous culture it was trying to portray. But, no... just a poor reimagination of Japanese-style art. I thought maybe this was done to make the story more accessible. But, if that were the case, it would have been an accessible story. Instead the story was plotless, stilted, and preachy. It may have been more effective if I belonged to a different cultural group -- But, judging as an outsider (and comic book reader) -- I didn't get it.

[Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this was a great concept, I felt like I only got the very beginning and the very end of the story. The parts that I wanted to see - the boys living off the land and growing as people - were only briefly explained from an outsider's perspective and it was quite unsatisfying. Rather than telling us about how the boys turned their lives around, I wanted Van Camp to show it. As it was, the heel-face character development wasn't all that believable for the simple reason that we just have to take Van Camp's word that it happened. Give me a reprint that's about 100 pages longer and tells the whole story, please.

[Barbara McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars - There is a lot of good here. I enjoyed the illustrations and the bits of story but it feels choppy and is sort of hard to follow. You miss large pieces of time. I wanted it to be more flushed out.