I remember the first time I discussed post-apocalyptic indigenous literature, and the flashbulb that went off when my cousin pointed out “indigenous people have already had their apocalypse.” I was sitting on the patio at The Charlatan on commercial drive, it was your typical gorgeous Vancouver summer day. Decolonizing one’s thinking is a process of a million steps, but that epiphany was a full leap that changed how I read indigenous stories thereafter.

This story is an anthology of speculative fiction featuring characters that identify as indigiqueer and two-spirit. Many of these stories took place on a dying earth, showing indigenous people’s resilience *and survival* through a second apocalypse, but some showed life-- and love-- after the end. They showed indigenous reclamation of language, plant knowledge, culture, and spirituality, and that reclamation allowing the characters to not only survive, but thrive. 

One thing I thought a lot about was Johnny Appleseed, by Joshua Whitehead, which won Canada Reads this year. On the last day, Devery Jacobs tearfully explained how she connected to fully with Johnny when he said "I played straight on the rez in order to be Indian and here I played white in order to be queer.” These stories come back to us from a future where the impacts of colonization on gender and culture have been defeated, and the acting that Deverey connected so strongly to. 

This book is a beautiful anthology showcasing speculative fiction that is more rooted in the connection we have to each other and to the planet, than the science fiction of each individual story.