An Indigenous teen whose poignant letter to Winnipeg politicians and police in 2016 went viral is sharing her message in a new form: a graphic novel.
Brianna Jonnie made headlines three years ago when she wrote to mayor Brian Bowman and then-police chief Devon Clunis, calling for a change in the way missing and murdered Indigenous women’s cases are handled, in comparison to non-Indigenous missing person cases.
The letter earned her national attention, including a conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss her concerns.
Jonnie, now 17 and a biochemistry student at the University of Winnipeg, is the author of If I Go Missing – a graphic novel that tells a story based on excerpts of her two-page letter.
“A person reaches a certain point hearing the many, many stories about the same thing going on in your community and across Canada,” Jonnie told 680 CJOB.
“You either choose to keep hearing these stories day after day, or you choose to try and say something about it…”
“…try and start a conversation with other people, hopefully to change something or somebody.”
The book includes lush illustrations by Neal Shannacappo – a collaborator Jonnie didn’t meet personally, but who she says captured the essence of her words.
“It’s absolutely incredible. Just going through it, I was amazed,” she said.
“Obviously the words are really important, but the pictures behind it really bring the whole thing together.”
Jonnie said she hopes the book will have the biggest impact on students. Her high school experience, she said, involved some experiences with racism, even from classmates she considered friends.
“My goal for that is when students like me read this, they understand the perspective of an Indigenous person and they realize it was written by a youth like them.
“Hopefully it changes something more positive for them.”
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