Causerie et vernissage avec le bédéiste sami Mats Jonsson et Isabelle Chéreau, traductrice
INVITATION
We invite you to meet Sami comic book artist Mats Jonsson and his translator, Isabelle Chéreau, for a discussion about When We Were Sami, a remarkable autobiographical and documentary graphic novel.
This will also be an opportunity to attend the opening reception of When We Were Sami: A Rediscovered History, an exhibition that extends the reading experience of the book.
Free admission | Bistro
Hosted by: Daniel Aubin
Book available for purchase ($39.95) and signing
Complimentary wine reception
After the death of his grandfather, Mats Jonsson discovers that his ancestors were Sami. This revelation leads him to undertake an extensive investigation into his family origins and the history of this Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia.
Through his research, the author traces the assimilation policies implemented by the Swedish state, the gradual loss of language and traditions, as well as the mechanisms that led many families to conceal or abandon their Sami identity. By following the thread of his own family history, he sheds light on the history of a people whose presence was long marginalized in national narratives.
A deeply human documentary graphic novel about memory, cultural transmission, and reclaiming identity, When We Were Sami is a story that is both informative and moving, brought to life by one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary comics.
Mats Jonsson’s first work to be published in French, the documentary graphic novel When We Were Sami was a finalist for the August Prize, Sweden’s most prestigious literary award, and won the Björn Nilsson Cultural Journalism Award, presented by the national daily newspaper Expressen.
This event is made possible with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council | Kulturrådet and Ontario Creates.
Prise de parole thanks its partners: Le Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury, Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury, Kwahiatonhk!, and the Regroupement des éditeurs franco-ontariens.
