Surviving the City Series by Tasha Spillett Analysis Essay Example

Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s Surviving the City is a microcosm of indigenous assimilation which unfolded during the late 1700s and continues to appear today. The global issue integrated into its story is community and culture. Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s characters, Dez and Miikwan, learn to navigate through a modern and unforgiving city while trying their best to maintain tradition and pay tribute to the women they’ve lost, until they nearly lose each other to the government as well. Surviving the City illustrates the loss and comfort that can be found in a culture and community.

Page 26 of Tasha Spillett’s novel illustrates Dez’s fear of needing to choose between losing her only family or leaving with the social worker. Dez’s expression at the bottom elaborates the distraught she feels in having been given the difficult decision of agreeing to leave with the social worker or running away from them and her responsibilities as her kokum’s caregiver, who is sick. She says, “I’m scared. I don’t know where they are taking me.” This is a reflection of global issues and the confusion indegenous people felt when taken away.  The background on page 26 showcases the colors red and black, two colors that represent evil, power, and anger, yet are at the same time two colors of the indigenous medicine wheel. These colors appear in the background to accompany Dez’s explanation, her hand acting as a shield for the two females in the center, perhaps also symbolic of her taking care of her kokum as repayment for her upbringing. Dez is exhausted and fearful of the prospect of starting a new life without her family.

Dez and Miikwan’s huddled body posture and facial expressions illustrate their friendship. The bleeding and the seamless flow of images visualize the chaos in Dez’s mind as she cries. The panels pile on top of one another as there are no gutters to signify a time change. While the adult figures refuse to listen to her, to an extent, she has Miikwan, who has suffered similar pain. The authority figures out to “help” her are not as empathic. When Dez says, “Now they’re trying to take me away too.” it becomes one of Miikwan’s worst fears, yet despite being upset and afraid a few pages before, this scene reveals her character as sympathetic and caring.

In earlier pages, it is apparent that the social worker plans on taking Dez away from her family. The social worker believes a new home would be more helpful to Dez than the beliefs she grew up having. She scolds Dez, saying it was her phone that caused her to be distracted in class, and that is why she must leave. However, Dez’s kokum later makes a connection between social homes and going to residential institutions. 

A dark ghost representing dark intent follows the man on the page and lays its hands on the young girl; His smokey style and hollow black eyes evoke fear and sadness. The older woman is obviously in agony, yet this scene is only one illustration of people torn from their community. Many women were taken during the time of cultural genocide without notice; Dex experiences the same when she is suddenly in the same position as her kokum once was. The four women are drawn near the center of the page to emphasize their distress. The lack of gutters and flowing colors depict the comparison between Dez and her kokum and the fate they may soon share should the government tear her from her home and school.

Although they face what seems to be an endless amount of problems, Miikwan and Dez still find some form of the happy ending they deserve. The No More Stolen Sisters program that the two girls participate in later creates a sense of community while drawing attention to the murder of indigenous women in the past. Their appearance in Tasha Spillett’s graphic novel represents the strength, perspective, and resilience of the community of people who suffer from losing the women they love for the sake of their native culture. Not only does community appear in other forms such as sexuality and race, but it becomes all the more important when combined with the ins and outs of culture and tradition. Among many others, Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s story depicts the aftermath of brutal genocide and how women of color survive the modern city.