Episode 18: Brandon Mitchell on creating comic books and teaching youth through visually telling Mi’kmaq stories

May 26, 2022

Brandon Mitchell (BIS’16, MEd’18) is a Mi'kmaq graphic artist, published writer and entrepreneur from Listuguj, Quebec, now residing in Fredericton. Brandon is a two-time graduate of UNB, with a Bachelor in Multimedia and Art Culture and Master in Education, Adult and Continuing Education. He is the founder of Birch Bark Comics and creator of the Sacred Circles comic series. His work includes a series of illustrated books that fuse contemporary graphic novel artistic approaches with traditional Mi’kmaq stories and language. Brandon feels that comic books and graphic novels are a path to better teach Indigenous youth about their culture, rather than from a textbook. 

In this episode:   

• How Brandon realized he could write and how he got into graphic novels 
• His initial experience teaching Indigenous youth in his home community, and how it inspired creating Mi’kmaq graphic art stories 
• The challenge of starting and growing an Indigenous business, and in being both an entrepreneur and a creative 
• Growing a career as a published author
• Why Brandon feels incorporating the Mi’kmaq language into storytelling is a better way to expose young readers to culture and pride  

Links and resources:   

Birch Bark Comics 

Brandon’s books 

Beaverbrook Art Gallery exhibit 

Brandon on Twitter 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Ian Smith 

Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  

Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance, Manulife, and MBNA Mastercard  

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