The Outside Circle

Content Warning: This guide and source material contains references to violence, substance abuse, and abuse of Indigenous people.

The graphic novel opens with a group of men gathered in a circle on the floor. This is the inaugural session of the In Search of Your Warrior Program, designed to facilitate trauma healing for incarcerated Aboriginal men. Leading this session is Pete Carver, an Elder and the program’s guide. Pete announces his intention to share a story with the other men present.

The narrative then flashes back in time to a dimly lit street in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, Canada. As the narrator, Pete explains that many Indigenous people are “ashamed of their heritage” (8) and “struggle with addictions, living in pain and confusion” (9). Page 9 presents gloomy illustrations of bicycle wheels running over a syringe, symbolizing these struggles. The illustrations on the next page reveal that the bikes belong to two kids who cycle up to a young Pete, standing in the dark alley. He confronts them aggressively, demanding money, and one of the kids complies. Pete then gets in his car where his girlfriend, Crystal, is waiting for him.