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.
In 2015, writer and journalist Paul Seesequasis found himself grappling with the devastating findings of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission report on the residential school system. He sought understanding and inspiration in the stories of his mother, herself a residential school survivor. Gradually, Paul realized that another, mostly untold history existed alongside the official one: that of how Indigenous peoples and communities had held together during even the most difficult times. He embarked on a social media project to collect archival photos capturing everyday life in First Nations, Metis 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 social media, 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 for the first time.
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun collects some of the most arresting images and stories from Paul's project. While many of the photographs live 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.

zlib/History/American Studies/Paul Seesequasis/Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun : Portraits of Everyday Life in Eight Indigenous Communities_24304018.epub

Seesequasis, Paul

Random House Digital Inc.

Prentice Hall Press

United States, United States of America

First Edition, PT, 2019

Toronto, Ontario, 2019

1, 20191022

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"Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun consists of approximately 80 archival black-and-white and colour photographs of Indigenous family life from 1925 to 1985, a period of sixty years. Thematically, like Paul's social media feed, the images will portray the resilience and resourcefulness of Indigenous communities across Canada, and will illustrate a way of life that has been diminished or lost in modern times and is little known today. The book will focus on five communities. The high-resolution photos will be selected from the works of 12 photographers who spent significant time in each region. Paul will clear permission and collect prints. Paul will select the photos according to their relevance to the geography and history of each of the five communities. The communities are: Cape Dorset (Kinngait) in Nunavut; Lake Superior Region in Ontario; Plains (Medicine Line) in Southern Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan and Northern Montana; Fort Rae (Bechoko) in the Northwest Territories, and Teslin - Old Crow in the Yukon. The narrative essay for each community will focus on exploration of its history, its families, and its cultural characteristics; including anecdotal stories, profiles of significant individuals, and analysis of how the community adapted to change. The essays will avoid an academic or anthropological approach, showing rather than telling. They will focus on the human dimension and allow the sensual aspects of the photographs (the stories within) to speak for themselves. That sensuality captures the beauty and humanity of the subjects through the hardest of times and through tumultuous changes, while retaining the optimism and resilience of the human spirit. To counter the current preponderance of stories about oppression and misery, the narrative will be comprised of positive stories celebrating Indigenous experience, as well as the stories of the photographers themselves, when they are relevant and interesting; see the attached Brick essay for an example of the latter. A Foreword will explain that this book is not meant to be an all-inclusive record of the over 65 distinct First Nations, Metis, and Inuit cultures in Canada, but a selective exploration based on the work of the photographers. At the back of the book will be the Acknowledgments and Links for those who want to look deeper into a particular photograph, as well as a Glossary, and very brief Bios of the photographers."-- Provided by publisher

A revelatory portrait of eight Indigenous communities from across North America, shown through never-before-published archival photographsa gorgeous extension of Paul Seesequasiss popular social media project.
Moved and devastated by 2015s Truth and Reconciliation Commissions report on Canadas residential school system, journalist and activist Paul Seesequasisinspired by his mother, a residential school survivorwished 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, Mtis 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 Pauls 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, presentand future.

2023-04-14