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Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun: Portraits of Everyday Life in Eight Indigenous Communities
A revelatory portrait of eight Indigenous communities from across North America, shown through never-before-published archival photographs—a gorgeous extension of Paul Seesequasis’s popular social media project.
Moved and devastated by 2015’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on Canada’s residential school system, journalist and activist Paul Seesequasis—inspired by his mother, a residential school survivor—wished to share the very different history he knew existed, of Indigenous communities holding together during even the most difficult times. He embarked on a social media project to collect archival photos capturing the everyday life of people in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities from the 1920s through the 1970s. As he scoured archives and libraries, Paul uncovered a trove of candid images and began to post these on Twitter, where they sparked an extraordinary reaction. Friends and relatives of the individuals in the photographs commented online, and through this dialogue, rich histories came to light.
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun collects into one gorgeous, beautifully designed book some of the most arresting images and untold stories from Paul’s project. While many of the photographs are in public archives, most have never been shown to the people in the communities they represent. As such, Blanket Toss is not only an invaluable historical record; it is a meaningful act of reclamation, showing the ongoing resilience of Indigenous communities, past, present—and future.
Moved and devastated by 2015’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on Canada’s residential school system, journalist and activist Paul Seesequasis—inspired by his mother, a residential school survivor—wished to share the very different history he knew existed, of Indigenous communities holding together during even the most difficult times. He embarked on a social media project to collect archival photos capturing the everyday life of people in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities from the 1920s through the 1970s. As he scoured archives and libraries, Paul uncovered a trove of candid images and began to post these on Twitter, where they sparked an extraordinary reaction. Friends and relatives of the individuals in the photographs commented online, and through this dialogue, rich histories came to light.
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun collects into one gorgeous, beautifully designed book some of the most arresting images and untold stories from Paul’s project. While many of the photographs are in public archives, most have never been shown to the people in the communities they represent. As such, Blanket Toss is not only an invaluable historical record; it is a meaningful act of reclamation, showing the ongoing resilience of Indigenous communities, past, present—and future.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
14 people are currently reading
611 people want to read
About the author
Paul Seesequasis
6 books33 followersPaul Seesequasis is a writer, journalist, editor, storyteller, broadcaster and arts policy advisor. He was the founding editor of the award-winning Aboriginal Voices magazine, recipient of the MacLean-Hunter journalist award and has been a journalist in Canada, Russia and Cuba. His short stories and feature writing has been published in numerous books or aired nationally and internationally.
Tobacco Wars his most recent, was published in 2010 by Quattro Books. His Republic of Tricksterism is on the curriculum of universities world-wide. He is currently collaborating on a grahic novel version of the Popul Vuh with Gesu Mora, the only Canadian artist to recieive the Guggenheim fellowhip in 2011 and is also at work on a cross-genre book, In Medias Rez.
Tobacco Wars his most recent, was published in 2010 by Quattro Books. His Republic of Tricksterism is on the curriculum of universities world-wide. He is currently collaborating on a grahic novel version of the Popul Vuh with Gesu Mora, the only Canadian artist to recieive the Guggenheim fellowhip in 2011 and is also at work on a cross-genre book, In Medias Rez.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 5, 2019
I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced digital copy of this interesting and important book. My download only gave me an example of text and pictures which made me want to see the book in its entirety when it is published.
Paul Seesequasis is a Cree writer, journalist and cultural advocate. He has curated an extensive online exhibit of archival Indigenous photographs. By digitization of hundreds of old photos in the collection, many people from the communities were able to identify family members, friends, and even childhood pictures of themselves which they had never seen. This led them to recall and relate their memories from the time. The photos were collected from museums, libraries and from the archives of the photographers, covering the years in the early 1900s until the 1970s.
Most photos were taken by photographers who were embedded in the communities long enough to be able to capture spontaneous images which were not staged. There are also images produced by the first generation if Indigenous photographers during the mid-twentieth century. The book will include photos and memories from eight Indigenous communities, mostly in Canada. Would have definitely given it a 5-star rating if I had been able to download the entire book.
Paul Seesequasis is a Cree writer, journalist and cultural advocate. He has curated an extensive online exhibit of archival Indigenous photographs. By digitization of hundreds of old photos in the collection, many people from the communities were able to identify family members, friends, and even childhood pictures of themselves which they had never seen. This led them to recall and relate their memories from the time. The photos were collected from museums, libraries and from the archives of the photographers, covering the years in the early 1900s until the 1970s.
Most photos were taken by photographers who were embedded in the communities long enough to be able to capture spontaneous images which were not staged. There are also images produced by the first generation if Indigenous photographers during the mid-twentieth century. The book will include photos and memories from eight Indigenous communities, mostly in Canada. Would have definitely given it a 5-star rating if I had been able to download the entire book.
April 2, 2019
I don't read/have a lot of photography books, but I was drawn to this one. It was an authentic view of the lives of various indigenous groups from all across Canada. A quick snapshot that gives up a brief glimpse of a particular moment in time in these people's lives, with accompanying text explaining the context of the picture.
I enjoyed it very much, particularly because I am a lover of history.
I enjoyed it very much, particularly because I am a lover of history.
dnf
June 25, 2021DNF at 46%
My DNFing has nothing to do with the book itself, just a genre preference! I really need to stop trying to force myself to read genres that I know I don’t enjoy. I’m just not into this kind of non-fiction, it’s very dry and feels like I’m reading a text book
My DNFing has nothing to do with the book itself, just a genre preference! I really need to stop trying to force myself to read genres that I know I don’t enjoy. I’m just not into this kind of non-fiction, it’s very dry and feels like I’m reading a text book
August 26, 2020
Definitely worth reading. I learned so many new things.
July 11, 2020
I was attracted to this Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple nominee title because of the subject matter and gorgeous production appeal of this book. The photographs took me away, but more than that, the historic accounts of indigenous life during each of the periods and regions represented in the pictures.
Paul Seeseequasis won for Book of the Year and Saskatoon Book Awards for Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun: Portraits of Everyday Life in Eight Indigenous Communities.
I learned so much and am so glad that I read this book.
Paul Seeseequasis won for Book of the Year and Saskatoon Book Awards for Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun: Portraits of Everyday Life in Eight Indigenous Communities.
I learned so much and am so glad that I read this book.
March 11, 2021
In this book, Paul shares archival photos from the 1920s-1970s of people in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. The book is set up in different sections and covers eight Indigenous communities (ape Dorset or Kinngait, Nunavi, James Bay, Hudson Bay watershed, Saskatchewan, Montana and Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Yukon territory). He talks about each community and all the different photographers for the photos included in that section.
What a beautiful reading experience! I'm glad I own this book because it's one that I'll definitely be revisiting.
What a beautiful reading experience! I'm glad I own this book because it's one that I'll definitely be revisiting.
August 20, 2020
A very worthwhile read & rich visual experience!
Thoughtful and careful commentary that provides just enough context to connect without wrapping everything up too neatly; the writing opens doors more than it finishes stories.
The words "the resilience, resourcefulness & determination of generations", taken from the book's introduction, are what this book transmits and expands.
Thoughtful and careful commentary that provides just enough context to connect without wrapping everything up too neatly; the writing opens doors more than it finishes stories.
The words "the resilience, resourcefulness & determination of generations", taken from the book's introduction, are what this book transmits and expands.
March 18, 2021
I couldn't be more grateful that I had the occasion to read Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun; it was a magnificently beautiful collection of personal stories which wove in and out of gorgeous photographs of the daily life of Indigenous people between about 1900 and 1970.
Photo collections by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous photographers are included in this work, and, as the author eloquently explains in both the introduction and epilogue, there is naturally an interpretative relationship between the subject and the photojournalist. The beauty in Mr. Seesequasis's book is that it is both a reclamation of the narrative and a reframing, or at least a fair critique, of what outsiders were attempting to capture in their pictures.
In the same vein, gender was a significant theme throughout this work; for me, as a female reader, Mr. Seesequasis's exploration of gender helped contextualize the relationship between non-indigenous photojournalists and Indigenous subjects, including artifacts and ceremonies, and provided a better understanding for outsiders/settlers how the outsider's gaze can masquerade as a "passion for the North" but is in fact exploitative and paternalistic. However, this book, as well as the work of so many other Indigenous commentators, writers, and artists, has taken a snapshot of Canada's failings and troubled past, and created something truly inspirational.
While Mr. Seesequasis's writing at no point shies away from the tragic inheritance of so many Indigenous communities at the hands of the Canadian government, whether it was a result of official policy, as in the case of literally starving the Blackfeet nation through farming legislation and deliberate incompetence, or simply a matter of turning a blind eye to violence inflicted by settlers and outlaws, its focus is on everyday joy, resilience of these communities, and the humanity to be found in shared experiences of creating art, practicing ritual, and simply laughing together literally leaps off the page.
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun should be on every bookshelf.
Photo collections by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous photographers are included in this work, and, as the author eloquently explains in both the introduction and epilogue, there is naturally an interpretative relationship between the subject and the photojournalist. The beauty in Mr. Seesequasis's book is that it is both a reclamation of the narrative and a reframing, or at least a fair critique, of what outsiders were attempting to capture in their pictures.
In the same vein, gender was a significant theme throughout this work; for me, as a female reader, Mr. Seesequasis's exploration of gender helped contextualize the relationship between non-indigenous photojournalists and Indigenous subjects, including artifacts and ceremonies, and provided a better understanding for outsiders/settlers how the outsider's gaze can masquerade as a "passion for the North" but is in fact exploitative and paternalistic. However, this book, as well as the work of so many other Indigenous commentators, writers, and artists, has taken a snapshot of Canada's failings and troubled past, and created something truly inspirational.
While Mr. Seesequasis's writing at no point shies away from the tragic inheritance of so many Indigenous communities at the hands of the Canadian government, whether it was a result of official policy, as in the case of literally starving the Blackfeet nation through farming legislation and deliberate incompetence, or simply a matter of turning a blind eye to violence inflicted by settlers and outlaws, its focus is on everyday joy, resilience of these communities, and the humanity to be found in shared experiences of creating art, practicing ritual, and simply laughing together literally leaps off the page.
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun should be on every bookshelf.
May 20, 2020
A beautiful photographic account of history of eight different Indigenous communities, seen through the eyes of talented, caring photographers makes for a hopeful and joyful account. Married with stories and recollections of those captured in the photos and their families, it brings this history to life in these communities, revealing joy and identity in the midst of a world being turned upside down by changing realities in the environment and in the policies of government.
January 19, 2022
Beautiful photos and stories about the people in these communities. I learned more again about indigenous communities and their resilience. I never knew the Quebec government culled thousands of sled dogs in the north. Such atrocities.
June 17, 2024
This is a beautiful, heart-warming collection of photos and stories from 8 Indigenous Communities. The photos were (mostly) taken by Indigenous people between 1920-1970, capturing authentic moments of joy, work, craft and daily life in tiny communities - a life with very little evidence of White domination. Most photo subjects are named and their family line explained, giving a depth of context to each person. Despite the concurrent losses these communities were experiencing, with ongoing Residential School horrors, this book gives a different and very refreshing taste of Indigenous life.
So much of my Indigenous reading list includes devastating accounts of the atrocities of Residential Schools, the Highway of Tears, downtown Eastside struggles and the long journey to re-find Indigenous cultural connection. While these are essential and important reads, it was truly joyful to experience this collection. When read in partnership with experiencing The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation , I feel a greater shame at the loss of such vivid contentment and happiness.
So much of my Indigenous reading list includes devastating accounts of the atrocities of Residential Schools, the Highway of Tears, downtown Eastside struggles and the long journey to re-find Indigenous cultural connection. While these are essential and important reads, it was truly joyful to experience this collection. When read in partnership with experiencing The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation , I feel a greater shame at the loss of such vivid contentment and happiness.
May 13, 2020
A beautiful book to look at and to read with its focus on everyday life of indigenous peoples. The author is not an historian, instead, he treats the inquiry with an openness that isn’t tied to a formula or process or theory. At times this can result in a less than seamless or packaged approach which sometimes leads to a disconnect between the reader and the material. However, the photos are so compelling that I found myself drawn back in time and again.
I love what he says in the introduction about the stories behind the photos: “So many of the stories here could be. That does not delegitimize memory or historical accounts, but it points to a certain wisdom that the story is only a small part of the picture and the picture itself is only a small part of the story”
And speaking of stories - there are several that stand out like the rock tour by canoe along the James Bay coast in 1974 or the beaver purse story. That one was especially poignant as a teenaged girl holding the purse in a photo in 1951 is reunited with the purse she and her mother made in 2015 as part of a delegation of elders visiting the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa to identify artifacts. To bring this story full circle would be to see this “artifact” returned to its community for safe keeping (162).
The sheer number of the photos now archived in various institutions in Canada is staggering. That we have come to know indigenous history mostly through the lens of the tragedies of residential schools, the failed treaties, the Indian Act and so on is such a loss.
All the people I met in this book and all the stories I read - wow. It was really a unique reading experience. Seesequasis’s book is wonderful. In the epilogue he reminds readers: “No narrative can tell the whole story, nor reflect, in all its complexity, a person’s life. It is better I think, to approach the narratives that make up this book as stories inspired by the photographs, not ultimate truths” (165).
I love what he says in the introduction about the stories behind the photos: “So many of the stories here could be. That does not delegitimize memory or historical accounts, but it points to a certain wisdom that the story is only a small part of the picture and the picture itself is only a small part of the story”
And speaking of stories - there are several that stand out like the rock tour by canoe along the James Bay coast in 1974 or the beaver purse story. That one was especially poignant as a teenaged girl holding the purse in a photo in 1951 is reunited with the purse she and her mother made in 2015 as part of a delegation of elders visiting the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa to identify artifacts. To bring this story full circle would be to see this “artifact” returned to its community for safe keeping (162).
The sheer number of the photos now archived in various institutions in Canada is staggering. That we have come to know indigenous history mostly through the lens of the tragedies of residential schools, the failed treaties, the Indian Act and so on is such a loss.
All the people I met in this book and all the stories I read - wow. It was really a unique reading experience. Seesequasis’s book is wonderful. In the epilogue he reminds readers: “No narrative can tell the whole story, nor reflect, in all its complexity, a person’s life. It is better I think, to approach the narratives that make up this book as stories inspired by the photographs, not ultimate truths” (165).
July 5, 2019
This book is very well documented. Paul shares precious pictures and elements from archives. An unique opportunity to connect with the ongoing resilience
#BlanketTossUnderMidnightSun #NetGalley
#BlanketTossUnderMidnightSun #NetGalley
December 26, 2019
This book was more than I expected it to be. I ordered it for my school, thinking it was just photos, but the narrative that is included with the photos is excellent. The book gives a glimpse into indigenous life in Canada prior to the 1970s.
April 10, 2020
This book was the medicine I needed right now, a gift to travel back in time and to some places I dream of returning to, specifically Nunavik. Beautiful archival photos capture moments in time, reminding me of our resiliency as Indigenous peoples.
December 30, 2020
A gorgeous book. Seesequasis has gone through archives to pull together photographs from the early 1900s to the 1970s of indigenous people (mostly) in Canada's north, in eight communities (Cape Dorset or Kinngait, Nunavi, James Bay, Hudson Bay watershed, Saskatchewan, Montana and Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Yukon territory). He chose photographers who "became embedded in a community long enough for their lens to not be as obtrusive as a tourist's" and for years he was posting these photos on social media, and gathering stories from people who recognized them, posting to say "That's my grandmother!" or "That's me, forty-two years ago!" Yes, the photos speak for themselves, and yet the stories are also priceless. Everything from very stark tales of survival on the land, to the Fort George Rockers, a rock band formed in 1972 and still playing in 2017, and who embarked "on what was probably the first-ever rock tour by canoe visiting three James Bay communities". He writes background context about the development of Inuit paper and textile printing in Cape Dorset, about the slaughter of Inuit sled dogs, about the flooding of the lands of the James Bay Cree, and more. I love the author's very last sentence in his epilogue: "if you have experienced some pleasure and learned something from this book, know that your feeling is very much reciprocated by the author".
November 5, 2020
Unter der Mitternachtssonne
In diesem Bildband portraitiert der Journalist und Autor Paul Seesequasis acht indigene Gemeinschaften aus Kanada.
Seinen Ursprung hat das Buch in einem Social-Media-Projekt: bei Instagram lud Seesequasis Bilder hoch, die das Leben der First Nations, Métis und Inuit darstellten. Viele der Fotos stammen von verschwunden geglaubten Negativen oder befanden sich in Archiven.
Nach und nach meldeten sich Zeitzeugen oder Angehörige der abgebildeten Personen und Seesequasis konnte den Gesichtern Namen geben, begann, die Geschichten zu den Bildern zu erzählen. Sie handeln zwar auch von den grausamen Taten, die die Kolonialmacht der indigenen Bevölkerung antat; vor allem aber erzählen sie die Geschichte der Überlebenden, der einzigartigen Traditionen und Kultur, der ständigen Anpassungsfähigkeit und der eindrucksvollen Gemeinschaft.
Mehrere Generationen ganzer Familien werden betrachtet, es gibt interessante Einblicke in die Werdegänge der Fotograf*innen und ihr Blick auf die indigenen Gemeinschaften.
Zum Schluss noch ein bisschen Meckern auf hohem Niveau: es ist fast schade, wie abrupt manche Geschichten abbrechen, da ich gerne noch mehr erfahren hätte.
In diesem Bildband portraitiert der Journalist und Autor Paul Seesequasis acht indigene Gemeinschaften aus Kanada.
Seinen Ursprung hat das Buch in einem Social-Media-Projekt: bei Instagram lud Seesequasis Bilder hoch, die das Leben der First Nations, Métis und Inuit darstellten. Viele der Fotos stammen von verschwunden geglaubten Negativen oder befanden sich in Archiven.
Nach und nach meldeten sich Zeitzeugen oder Angehörige der abgebildeten Personen und Seesequasis konnte den Gesichtern Namen geben, begann, die Geschichten zu den Bildern zu erzählen. Sie handeln zwar auch von den grausamen Taten, die die Kolonialmacht der indigenen Bevölkerung antat; vor allem aber erzählen sie die Geschichte der Überlebenden, der einzigartigen Traditionen und Kultur, der ständigen Anpassungsfähigkeit und der eindrucksvollen Gemeinschaft.
Mehrere Generationen ganzer Familien werden betrachtet, es gibt interessante Einblicke in die Werdegänge der Fotograf*innen und ihr Blick auf die indigenen Gemeinschaften.
Zum Schluss noch ein bisschen Meckern auf hohem Niveau: es ist fast schade, wie abrupt manche Geschichten abbrechen, da ich gerne noch mehr erfahren hätte.
March 10, 2021
Absolutely awesome book. The author found lots of archive photos of Indigenous people, posted them online, and gathered the stories behind the photos. Many of the photos had never been seen by the communities that they were of, although in many cases the photographers did at least write down the name of the person and the First Nation that they were from. What’s also great about this is that Paul Seesequasis has selected photos of people doing ordinary things, but also some extraordinary stories. The book is about Indigenous life and resilience, which is wonderful. It doesn’t pull any punches on the subject of the slaughter of the Inuit People’s dogs, or the residential schools, or other terrible colonial policies, but it’s not specifically about those things. It’s about the continuity of Indigenous lives, cultures, and communities. The writing style is straightforward and engaging too.
August 10, 2021
This is a delightful, and well-constructed history of 8 indigenous communities in Canada, through archival photographs. It feels like a combination of family album, with some short stories and introductions to the photographers and muses. A very humanizing way to introduce those who live near us and also very far away, and to peek into what it might have been like in the 1950's when photography was coming into vogue for storytellers and anthropologists alike.
I enjoyed being refocused throughout the book about ways that photographs, like anything, can have a slant, but to try to really look at the photos and think on them. Like art. I fell like I may understand a bit more why the old treaties and the indigenous oral traditions did not translate.
I enjoyed being refocused throughout the book about ways that photographs, like anything, can have a slant, but to try to really look at the photos and think on them. Like art. I fell like I may understand a bit more why the old treaties and the indigenous oral traditions did not translate.
May 9, 2020
Prompted by a call to think about what life was like during the time of residential schools beyond the suffering - to have a positive record of Indigenous strength and resilience - Paul Seesequasis put together this photo album of a kind. Attached to the photographs are some of the most thoughtful narrative vignettes, historical sketches, and archival research that I've seen. It's an effective and illuminating look at Indigenous history from across eight different communities and regions, from the Yukon at the time of the gold rush down through Saskatchewan when pow-wows were banned and across to the Hudson Bay area, Nunavik, and the east coast. Strongly recommended.
July 27, 2020
It’s not so much a read as it is a photo essay. The first few chapters were rather repetitive writing with more stories about the photographers than the Indigenous communities.
It reminded me largely of the writing beside works of art at museums. However it seemed the author was more comfortable or there was more information about western communities. There were more personal stories about the communities, and their artistic development.
But really it’s about the photos. Just disappointed in the writing.
It reminded me largely of the writing beside works of art at museums. However it seemed the author was more comfortable or there was more information about western communities. There were more personal stories about the communities, and their artistic development.
But really it’s about the photos. Just disappointed in the writing.
September 8, 2024
This book hooked the history buff in me. The personal stories and portraits are deeply moving. I am a 57 year old born and raised Albertan and I have never heard of the slaughter of the Inuit sled dogs. The Quebec government told the police to kill all the Inuit sled dogs in the far north during the 1950s and 1960s. This was done to move the Inuit off the land and into homes and federal programs. Thus essentially terminating the Inuit culture. Thank you to those who shared their stories of Canada's colonial history.
November 28, 2020
A beautifully produced book which combines archival photos with history; sometimes the history is of the photographers but more often its of the eight different indigenous communities that are portrayed in the photos. Many of them are in northern Canada, some in the west. The subtitle is slightly misleading because the books reliance on archival photos makes it primarily historical in nature, but it does provide a look a everyday life and ordinary people - in often quite extraordinary photos.
January 1, 2020
The photographs were all absolutely beautiful. I think my 4 star rating, compared to a 5 star rating, has to do with the extra bits of historical information in regards to names and what individuals have done in their lives. I somewhat glazed over that information but passages that spoke about what happened in history with communities was interesting to me.
July 6, 2020
Reading this felt like I was sitting next to someone and flipping through their photo album with them. I deeply enjoyed learning about this aspect of the history of Indigenous people in Canada. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to broaden their perceptions of what was happening in Indigenous communities through the 20th century.
December 17, 2019
A book of photographs and stories from the people of my beautiful country of Canada. Portraits of every day life in eight indigenous communities. Highly recommend if you are interested in this sort of thing. I enjoyed it immensely
May 13, 2021
A collection of really compelling photographs of Indigenous people (mostly in Canada) contextualized by stories from and about the people in the pictures. I enjoyed reading this as well as taking time to look at the photographs.
November 16, 2019
Amazing pictures, tales of overcoming adversity and betrayal
November 24, 2019
Such an amazing collection of portraits - and also important background about the communities in the photos.
December 1, 2019
Great curation of images with an important narrative
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews