Journey Into Mohawk Country Graphic Novel Review

For those who didn't already know I worked in my college library for the spring and summer of this year. I would process and shelve many books during this time. I discovered many books that I wanted to read, and was told by a few of the librarians that this was an "occupational hazard".  One such book I found was this one in the history section.  The title on the spine interested me as I know the Mohawks are a nation located within the Central New York region. So of course I was interested in reading this as I have always been fascinated by Native Americans, and my part of the world. Upon seeing that it was a first hand account(based on journals from a Dutch trader) and a graphic novel I knew that I had to read this.

I know that a few people on Goodreads had given this poor ratings, and I think that these people were anticipating a prose/narrative type graphic novel, and not a literal journal entry text. I think this is better than a narrative story, because this was what a real person had seen and documented. I found it amazing that these people had walked from Fort Orange( which is modern day Albany, NY) to the CNY region. THEY WALKED! They didn't travel in wagons or by horseback...they walked. What takes us a few hours to drive these men walked that distance on foot, and through snow. That in itself is amazing. I know that the artist tried to best portray as accurately as he could the people of this region, so it may not be spot on, but it's pretty damn close. It was interesting seeing the different nations that these men came across, and how they traded wampums for beaver pelts. It was also interesting how the culture was shown in such things such as comunal living(long houses), diet,songs, medicine, religion, war, and peace relations among the different nations. I wonder if the big lake that they talk about if it is Oneida lake, as I tried to look at a map and approximate where they had traveled. As someone who lives in this region I found this to be a very fascinating account of people who lived here some 400 yrs ago. While it is not the best graphic novel it is a very good one that I rated 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Whether you are interested in a different type of graphic novel or history of Native American peoples you may too enjoy this book.