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A Girl Called Echo #4
Road Allowance Era
Echo's story pick sup again when she travels back in time to 1885. The Manitoba Act's promise of land for the Metis has gone unfulfilled and many flee to the Northwest.
48 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2021
1 person is currently reading
425 people want to read
About the author
Katherena Vermette
35 books1,305 followersKatherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Metis descent and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
June 29, 2021
I am so glad books like this exist; not only to protect indigenous/First Nation history but also to show that colonization never ended.
And I loved seeing Echo's character growth and her supportive and beautiful family. The artwork was lovely and done with a lot of sensitivity.
Even though this was a short series, I hope this isn't the last we will hear from the author and artists!
Content warning: violence, anti-indigenous racism, death, police brutality, colonization, genocide
And I loved seeing Echo's character growth and her supportive and beautiful family. The artwork was lovely and done with a lot of sensitivity.
Even though this was a short series, I hope this isn't the last we will hear from the author and artists!
Content warning: violence, anti-indigenous racism, death, police brutality, colonization, genocide
January 4, 2022
The fourth volume in Metis author Katherena Vermette's YA series focused on indigenous history, inviting student awareness and activism. Like many kids, even indigneous kids, they are clueless about their histories. Vermette uses a concerned history teacher to give kids (and us) some historical context for their lives, and then she has Echo travel back to actual ket historical moments.
In this volume Echo continues her journey back to the past and to 1885 where we see--post execution of Louis Riel and other indigenous leaders that year--the erosion of land rights for the Metis people, driving many of them to the Northwest, and the Winnipeg area, to the margins, here many of them still exist. In part because it is the final volume, Vermette wants to close on a positive note of resilience and hope, but it's also clear she wants young people to know the wrongs perpetrated on indigenous people in Canada. She's a good writer.
In this volume Echo continues her journey back to the past and to 1885 where we see--post execution of Louis Riel and other indigenous leaders that year--the erosion of land rights for the Metis people, driving many of them to the Northwest, and the Winnipeg area, to the margins, here many of them still exist. In part because it is the final volume, Vermette wants to close on a positive note of resilience and hope, but it's also clear she wants young people to know the wrongs perpetrated on indigenous people in Canada. She's a good writer.
November 7, 2025
a sad but hopeful end of review of métis history and what somewhat feels like a fresh start of perspective for echo and the community in present time.
I really liked the historical aspect of this series, but echo’s story lacked bc we got so little detail of it.
I really liked the historical aspect of this series, but echo’s story lacked bc we got so little detail of it.
May 1, 2021
The Metis people were the decedents of people of the Cree nation and French settlers. Although currently they are considered to be Indigenous people, the same way the Inuit and First Nations people are, during the 19th and most of 20th century they were not considered anything at all. Because they weren't "pure" natives, the government of Canada didn't think they needed to do anything with them, neither give them reserves, or help them in any way.
This is background for understanding this series of books, which concludes with this one. Echo is Metis, and doesn't know anything about the Metis history. She begins a class on the same, and suddenly finds herself traveling back in time to her ancestors experiencing things such as the Pemmican wars (the first book), Red River Resistance (the second book), Northwest Resistance and the advent of Louis Riel who fights for his people (the third book), to this fourth and final book, where, spoiler alert, Louis Riel is hanged, along with the other Metis who fought back, and Echo finds that her people are living in the margins.
The name of this volume refers to the only place that the Metis could find to live, land that the Crown (meaning the government), wasn't currently using, Road Allowance Land. Echo travels back to this time, and learns more about how her people resisted and survived, as best they could.
All this is to say this is a great way to talk about the history of the Metis, and their fights with the Canadian government. Easy to read, and very well explained story. Echo begins with being bewildered about all that is happening, but by this, the fourth book, she realizes that the people that she has been visiting are her direct ancestors, and she understands a bit more of her history.
Well written, well researched. It is good to have a female teenage character helping us learn about history.
This is background for understanding this series of books, which concludes with this one. Echo is Metis, and doesn't know anything about the Metis history. She begins a class on the same, and suddenly finds herself traveling back in time to her ancestors experiencing things such as the Pemmican wars (the first book), Red River Resistance (the second book), Northwest Resistance and the advent of Louis Riel who fights for his people (the third book), to this fourth and final book, where, spoiler alert, Louis Riel is hanged, along with the other Metis who fought back, and Echo finds that her people are living in the margins.
The name of this volume refers to the only place that the Metis could find to live, land that the Crown (meaning the government), wasn't currently using, Road Allowance Land. Echo travels back to this time, and learns more about how her people resisted and survived, as best they could.
All this is to say this is a great way to talk about the history of the Metis, and their fights with the Canadian government. Easy to read, and very well explained story. Echo begins with being bewildered about all that is happening, but by this, the fourth book, she realizes that the people that she has been visiting are her direct ancestors, and she understands a bit more of her history.
Well written, well researched. It is good to have a female teenage character helping us learn about history.
June 19, 2021
My favorite of the series, this installment answers the question (kind of) of how/why Echo is able to visit moments in history. The stories highlight just how absolutely appallingly the indigenous people of Canada (and everywhere) have been treated, even into present day. I’m sad to see a Echo go, though it definitely felt like a good end of the story. #90graphicdays
March 29, 2022
Road Allowance Era by Katherena Vermette is the 4th and final graphic novel / YA / Indigenous story in the Girl Called Echo series. In this story, Echo travels back to the late 1800's and witnesses the trial and execution of Métis leader, Louis Riel. She also discovers that many of the people she has been meeting in her time travels are her ancestors. She also discovers that she only has to wish herself to a certain location and time will take her there.
Echo is justifiably distressed by what she discovers about this time in Canada's history, when they abused the rights of indigenous and Métis people, taking their land, burning their homes as they began to settle the West. But she also discovers that the future brings some hope for these people; that their very survival has made them stronger and resilient. Let's hope she is right. The story does end on a positive note which is encouraging.
Clear, excellent artwork and an interesting historical story about a time I didn't really know from Canada's history. At the end, the author provides a chronological timeline of the historical events discussed. It's been an educational, interesting series. (3.5 stars)
Echo is justifiably distressed by what she discovers about this time in Canada's history, when they abused the rights of indigenous and Métis people, taking their land, burning their homes as they began to settle the West. But she also discovers that the future brings some hope for these people; that their very survival has made them stronger and resilient. Let's hope she is right. The story does end on a positive note which is encouraging.
Clear, excellent artwork and an interesting historical story about a time I didn't really know from Canada's history. At the end, the author provides a chronological timeline of the historical events discussed. It's been an educational, interesting series. (3.5 stars)
June 25, 2022
I knew she was visiting back family members and seeing their lives and history—generational drama.
It's so bittersweet because she saw her roots and hints at her culture but also watched it fade away.
All I can see is how things changed but never got better for Indigenous; we still hurt them on their land. Oil fields where they live cause them to get sick, no clean water, ignoring the murder of Indigenous women, and disrespecting their culture, nature and history. It's not fair.
It's so bittersweet because she saw her roots and hints at her culture but also watched it fade away.
All I can see is how things changed but never got better for Indigenous; we still hurt them on their land. Oil fields where they live cause them to get sick, no clean water, ignoring the murder of Indigenous women, and disrespecting their culture, nature and history. It's not fair.
August 24, 2021
A stunning conclusion to this story.
December 17, 2023
The final chapter in this valuable Indigenous history sees an important shift in Winnipeg teenager Echo’s engagements with the people she meets in her time travelling experience of her Métis world. The story opens with Echo looking through a bundle of old family documents and photos – her experiences so far have increased her interest in her family’s past – only to find a photo of one of the people she met during her time with the Northwest resistance; it turns out to be her Great-Great-Great Grandmother Josephine – Echo has been visiting with her ancestors. This realisation then gives her a sense of control over her time travel and she begins to pick when she go, and to where/when.
This development gives this volume a different feel, and a sense of purpose beyond the exploration of Métis history in what is now Manitoba and Alberta. This volume covers a broad sweep, from Louis Riel’s trial and execution in the wake of the Northwest Resistance in 1885, through the State’s denial of it agreements and repudiation of legislative provision of Métis on the grounds they were all ‘rebels’, the period of landlessness and of ‘squatting’ on road reserves (the ‘road allowance’), and marginal urban life. Vermette weaves important efforts at community building in settlements such as Ste Madeleine in western Manitoba and ‘Rooster Town’ on the edge of Winnipeg, both burnt down by government edict as squatter settlements, ‘Rooster Town’ in 1959.
The art work sustains the story well, without being too disruptive or too didactic – it’s delicately balanced. There’s nothing that breaks the frame, but in places impressive page structuring (in one powerful case – the burning of Ste Madeline – double page design) that sustains the sense of violence and effects of the state’s oppressive actions. Yet even with this emphasis on the marginalisation and oppression of Métis, the state as dishonourable, the depiction of everyday and banal racism, there is a powerful sense of survivance. As Echo realises that she is exploring not only her Métis past, but her family experience that sense of survivance comes to shape and guide her action, thinking, and decisions; even here, it seems Vermette and the visual artists are aware of the risk of being excessively didactic, so this aspect is subtle and (for the most part) implied.
This has been an impressive series (and again I am struck by Highwater Press as a vital force in Indigenous publishing) that does history telling in important and accessible ways. Highly recommended.
This development gives this volume a different feel, and a sense of purpose beyond the exploration of Métis history in what is now Manitoba and Alberta. This volume covers a broad sweep, from Louis Riel’s trial and execution in the wake of the Northwest Resistance in 1885, through the State’s denial of it agreements and repudiation of legislative provision of Métis on the grounds they were all ‘rebels’, the period of landlessness and of ‘squatting’ on road reserves (the ‘road allowance’), and marginal urban life. Vermette weaves important efforts at community building in settlements such as Ste Madeleine in western Manitoba and ‘Rooster Town’ on the edge of Winnipeg, both burnt down by government edict as squatter settlements, ‘Rooster Town’ in 1959.
The art work sustains the story well, without being too disruptive or too didactic – it’s delicately balanced. There’s nothing that breaks the frame, but in places impressive page structuring (in one powerful case – the burning of Ste Madeline – double page design) that sustains the sense of violence and effects of the state’s oppressive actions. Yet even with this emphasis on the marginalisation and oppression of Métis, the state as dishonourable, the depiction of everyday and banal racism, there is a powerful sense of survivance. As Echo realises that she is exploring not only her Métis past, but her family experience that sense of survivance comes to shape and guide her action, thinking, and decisions; even here, it seems Vermette and the visual artists are aware of the risk of being excessively didactic, so this aspect is subtle and (for the most part) implied.
This has been an impressive series (and again I am struck by Highwater Press as a vital force in Indigenous publishing) that does history telling in important and accessible ways. Highly recommended.
July 26, 2022
C’est terrible de voir tout ce que le colonialisme a fait et continue de faire encore aujourd’hui. Bien heureuse de lire et de m’éduquer, j’espère que nous serons meilleurs.
January 11, 2023
Really enjoyed this series overall!
Read
April 29, 2022“IN YOUR BLOOD,
IT'S SOMETHING WE
CALL BLOOD MEMORY,
BONE MEMORY, IT IS
POWERFUL MEDICINE.
ALL WE HAVE IS IN
YOU.”
IT'S SOMETHING WE
CALL BLOOD MEMORY,
BONE MEMORY, IT IS
POWERFUL MEDICINE.
ALL WE HAVE IS IN
YOU.”
June 20, 2021
Echo continues her journey of self discovery. She learns more about her time travel powers and tries to come to terms with what she has learned about her family and her people.
June 17, 2021
A Girl Called Echo has been a wonderful series to read, and Road Allowance Era is no exception. The art is on point, the history is informative, and Echo is a relatable character whose time-travelling journeys into the history of her recent ancestors and the Metis people in general is devastating, fascinating, and engaging. As far as I'm aware, this is intended to conclude the series, and it was a great end to a great journey. Recommended!
February 18, 2022
Would have loved this to be a single book rather than a four part series, given how small each volume was. Otherwise an incredible story, weaving Idigenous perspectives and history into the present day life of Echo. Highly recommend, will likely use as a teaching resources.
July 27, 2021
Echo continues to take us on a journey into the past to learn about the continued injustices faced by the indigenous peoples in Canada after Riel.
August 7, 2021
We carry our ancestors strength & history with us— that’s a beautiful thought. Even if the history is filled with total crap moments.
Read
January 7, 2023a great conclusion! we see things come full circle as echo comes to understand how/why she's been having these experiences and she is able to control when they happen. this volume balances anger and hope really well, as echo considers both the injustice indigenous peoples have faced + continue to face in canada and also the progress that has been fought for in recent years.
two passages that really stood out to me:
two passages that really stood out to me:
May 15, 2021
Final instalment of Girl Called Echo. Very satisfying yet thought provoking ending to the series.
- I enjoy Vermette’s retelling of Indigenous history. Sadly, I didn’t know about road allowance. It got me on a research bender after to learn more about it. That’s one of he strengths of this series: calling you to dive deeper.
- Echo is a very sympathetic character. Approachable for YA readers. And her journey through the series is easily traceable.
- I liked the ending as it calls the reader to be part of the ending of the story. Leads to questions about future roles of reconciliation.
- illustrations are always beautiful.
- Even though I like the time travel narratives (and that’s the whole point of the series), I wish I could have more present day scenes. Perhaps it’s me, but I wanted to know about Echo’s family.
- Love the cultural representation throughout. I did notice this is more intentional than past instalments
Solid way to end the series. Will be recommending this graphic novel to my students.
- I enjoy Vermette’s retelling of Indigenous history. Sadly, I didn’t know about road allowance. It got me on a research bender after to learn more about it. That’s one of he strengths of this series: calling you to dive deeper.
- Echo is a very sympathetic character. Approachable for YA readers. And her journey through the series is easily traceable.
- I liked the ending as it calls the reader to be part of the ending of the story. Leads to questions about future roles of reconciliation.
- illustrations are always beautiful.
- Even though I like the time travel narratives (and that’s the whole point of the series), I wish I could have more present day scenes. Perhaps it’s me, but I wanted to know about Echo’s family.
- Love the cultural representation throughout. I did notice this is more intentional than past instalments
Solid way to end the series. Will be recommending this graphic novel to my students.
November 20, 2021
Vol. 1: The Pemmican Wars ★★★☆☆
Vol. 2: Red River Resistance ★★★☆☆
Vol. 3: Northwest Resistance ★★☆☆☆
Vol. 4: Road Allowance Era ★★★★☆
Echo is a quiet teenager who drifts through her day with a constant stream of music playing through her earbuds. Then one day in history class, she begins slipping through time, experiencing firsthand the history of the Métis people's interactions with Canadians in the nineteenth century. For the first time, Echo finds herself curious about her heritage and begins to reach out and open up to others.
Volume Four is a strong conclusion to the series, focusing on native peoples' resiliency in the face of genocide and hope for the future. Echo's character shone more here than in the rest of the series.
TW: anti-indigenous racism
Vol. 2: Red River Resistance ★★★☆☆
Vol. 3: Northwest Resistance ★★☆☆☆
Vol. 4: Road Allowance Era ★★★★☆
Echo is a quiet teenager who drifts through her day with a constant stream of music playing through her earbuds. Then one day in history class, she begins slipping through time, experiencing firsthand the history of the Métis people's interactions with Canadians in the nineteenth century. For the first time, Echo finds herself curious about her heritage and begins to reach out and open up to others.
Volume Four is a strong conclusion to the series, focusing on native peoples' resiliency in the face of genocide and hope for the future. Echo's character shone more here than in the rest of the series.
TW: anti-indigenous racism
February 4, 2022
All of the previous books were so wonderful to read for their own reasons but this one definitely shines.
Once more, the illustrations are gorgeous. There is more text here for us to follow along. It’s a really quick series that I think everyone should take the time to read. Especially since it provides such important history.
This one nearly brought me to tears as everything that was building up in the previous ones comes to a head. You know where it is going but it is still devastating to get to the point where it seems all hope is lost.
I love that the message is ultimately that Echo is proof of survival. That even though so much has been lost, their blood runs through her veins and her life symbolizes perserverance. It is also mentioned that things have got a little better even with every struggle they still fact at the hands of the Canadian government.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this series. It was a great refresher from all of the novels I have been reading lately!
Once more, the illustrations are gorgeous. There is more text here for us to follow along. It’s a really quick series that I think everyone should take the time to read. Especially since it provides such important history.
This one nearly brought me to tears as everything that was building up in the previous ones comes to a head. You know where it is going but it is still devastating to get to the point where it seems all hope is lost.
I love that the message is ultimately that Echo is proof of survival. That even though so much has been lost, their blood runs through her veins and her life symbolizes perserverance. It is also mentioned that things have got a little better even with every struggle they still fact at the hands of the Canadian government.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this series. It was a great refresher from all of the novels I have been reading lately!
October 28, 2024
I read the whole series in one sitting so I'm putting this review on each of them even though it's just one review.
I like the art and the premise of slipping into history and witnessing the events. At first, I wasn't sure if this was a power she knew she had and could control or if it was just happening to her (and how she can conveniently experience this without anyone noticing back in her own time).
I appreciated learning about the Metis history through this though I wish there was more to the framing story of Echo and her family. We know very little about her and even towards the end, there isn't a lot to her character besides she's witnessed these atrocities and now doesn't know what to do with her anger. That being said, I did like the comic.
I like the art and the premise of slipping into history and witnessing the events. At first, I wasn't sure if this was a power she knew she had and could control or if it was just happening to her (and how she can conveniently experience this without anyone noticing back in her own time).
I appreciated learning about the Metis history through this though I wish there was more to the framing story of Echo and her family. We know very little about her and even towards the end, there isn't a lot to her character besides she's witnessed these atrocities and now doesn't know what to do with her anger. That being said, I did like the comic.
November 13, 2022
I liked the ending - something inspirational for everyone to hold onto. I like how people in Echo's life are there for her during the hard times she experiences and, though she doesn't tell them exactly how she experiences them, they still know how to be there for her. The previous volumes emphasized playlists and songs while this one lacked in references for it this time. The times it is referenced the playlists seem scattered which could reveal how distressed she is. A lot of the history shown can really take a toll on someone especially if it is your history and I like that this book decided to find the brighter side of things amongst so much chaos.
December 7, 2022
4.5 stars.
This was a beautiful conclusion to this series. I felt such a strong need to cry through most of this book. Seeing Echo interact with her relatives, now knowing that they are family just really hit me. It was also so heartbreaking seeing how hard the Metis people had to fight just to keep land that was rightfully theirs, and how they were driven out of their homes time and time again. The way that this series depicts generational trauma was done very beautifully.
Despite there being many heartbreaking moments, this book ends on such a hopeful note. I'm so happy that I have finally read this series and learned more about the Metis history that I was not aware of beforehand.
This was a beautiful conclusion to this series. I felt such a strong need to cry through most of this book. Seeing Echo interact with her relatives, now knowing that they are family just really hit me. It was also so heartbreaking seeing how hard the Metis people had to fight just to keep land that was rightfully theirs, and how they were driven out of their homes time and time again. The way that this series depicts generational trauma was done very beautifully.
Despite there being many heartbreaking moments, this book ends on such a hopeful note. I'm so happy that I have finally read this series and learned more about the Metis history that I was not aware of beforehand.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2025
I feel like if you went into this comic series blind not knowing much about Canadian colonial history like I did, it's hard to follow.
I feel like this was written for indigenous (Metis?) teens trying to connect with their heritage, but not sure where to begin. So, for what it is, I think the comic does a good job of achieving that goal. But otherwise, it's narratively a bit bland. Echo's life in the modern world is just a vehicle to tell the illustrated Metis history via a graphic novel format. Echo's life story could definitely be fleshed out more to create a greater sense of stakes, in my opinion.
*I am not First Nations, so take my opinion with many a teaspoon of salt.
I feel like this was written for indigenous (Metis?) teens trying to connect with their heritage, but not sure where to begin. So, for what it is, I think the comic does a good job of achieving that goal. But otherwise, it's narratively a bit bland. Echo's life in the modern world is just a vehicle to tell the illustrated Metis history via a graphic novel format. Echo's life story could definitely be fleshed out more to create a greater sense of stakes, in my opinion.
*I am not First Nations, so take my opinion with many a teaspoon of salt.
December 25, 2021
Some details, like the setting of Riels execution, or RCMP depicted wearing wrong uniforms, might be jarring for those who treat history like a technician. But these are only details. This is an excellent series, and this volume was both a good, and informative read. With valuable timeline, archival images and engaging art along with writing that is sparse enough to convey it's message, this series (it should be read as a series, but each volume is impactful on it's own...) is not only a demonstration of the potency of the comic book, it is a valuable addition to the historiography of Canada.
June 24, 2023
Really nice wrap-up to the series. Echo is aptly named as we find she's a direct descendant to the people we've been meeting in past issues. Liked how the topic of generational trauma is brought up, yet there is hope for the future. The character Micah mentioning that the indigenous people are living in a post apocalyptic world also resonates. Overall enjoyed the story of Echo and leaving about the Metis people.
I had previously read The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline and her characters are Metis, so it's nice to see where they come from too.
I had previously read The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline and her characters are Metis, so it's nice to see where they come from too.
September 18, 2023
I really enjoyed the four books of the “A Girl Called Echo” series. Not sure if this is the end, or a conclusion of an arc.
The timeline in the back of the book provides a historical context, but the story itself gives the reader the personal connections and consequences of events, even into the future.
“You are our relative. We are inside you, are we not? In your blood. It’s something we call blood memory, bone memory, it is powerful medicine. All we have is in you…All our strength too.”
“You are the Future, Echo. You give us hope. Go home, mon amie. Go home and be the future.”
The timeline in the back of the book provides a historical context, but the story itself gives the reader the personal connections and consequences of events, even into the future.
“You are our relative. We are inside you, are we not? In your blood. It’s something we call blood memory, bone memory, it is powerful medicine. All we have is in you…All our strength too.”
“You are the Future, Echo. You give us hope. Go home, mon amie. Go home and be the future.”
July 12, 2021
3.5 stars for the series. it’s hard to give it more as readers are given the tiniest of introduction into each conflict involving the métis in what is now canada, with a textual timeline attached to the end of each volume. the stories are so fascinating and I would gladly have read four 200+ page volumes on each, but 50 page skims of the time periods just didn’t give me a full picture. the pros: gorgeous illustrations, really good layout, and storylines that left me wanting to learn more.
July 27, 2021
When big government Canada promises land to the Metis people then reneg on the deal, it shows how powerful white privilege is. With a pen stroke here and a pen stroke there, they can make law and changes to law that weakens the Metis strength. It was there land. It should be as simple as that. When big government wants something, they can move mountains to make it happen regardless of who it displaces. It's sad. It continues to happen. The fight hasn't gotten easier.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews