Sask. students taking part in Indigenous comic book workshop

The First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) is hosting an art workshop intended to teach youth skills through a popular medium: comic books.

The summer camp is a three-day program in which students learn about the artistic techniques necessary to create comics, along with the complexities of creating well-thought-out Indigenous characters.

Students will also have the opportunity to learn from Shaun Beyale, a renowned artist who has worked for Marvel comics.

“I just want to share my experience, being an Indigenous person, I just want to show them that through hard work and dedication, you can do whatever you want,” said Beyale.

The students taking the camp are excited to hear about Beyale’s experiences.

“Just how he got there. Because he’s an indigenous person and so am I so I’d like to know how he got that far,” said Judy Missens, a student in the workshop.

“Being a person of colour has its hardships because there are people who will turn their back on you or be rude to you, or have these really low expectations for you, and being able to push past that and do those big things is a good thing to do.”

This is the first time FNUniv has hosted a workshop of this kind, and organizers are hopeful that it won’t be the last.