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Reading Task

1. Read the following article and answer the questions below.

A Famous Publisher of American Comic Books Adds Indigenous Superhero from Canada's North

A new superhero has been added to a famous comics publisher. This new character is an Inuit teenager from northern Canada.She comes from Pangnirtung, a town in the territory of Nunavut. Inuit is the name for the native, or indigenous, people living in northern Canada, as well as parts of Greenland and the American state of Alaska. Nunavut is one of four areas that make up the homeland for Canada's Inuit population.

The new superhero began as a normal girl who became interested in the sudden appearance of a mysterious factory near her home. When she decides to investigate, a new, reat adventure begins. Her character is powered by an Inuit spirit-force named Sila.She gains the power to shapeshift, which means she can change her form from a girl to an animal.

Comic book author Jim Zub.

Jim Zub had created other characters before,but, he said, "There are Canadian superheroes in the comics'world, but there haven't been any new ones in quite a while and there

haven't been any teenaged heroes."That is when Zub decided to turn to the Inuit people,whose traditions include myths. Some of their stories describe creatures with human-like characteristics.

The writer teamed up with South African artist Sean Izaakse and colorist Marcio Menyz to bring this teenage superhero to life. Zub said that in creating her character,they tried to keep an important balance. They wanted to make sure she represented the things that make indigenous culture special and interesting. But they did not want the character to "fall too far into stereotypes."Zub said he carefully researched Inuit history and culture. He also contacted Toronto-based film producer Nyla Innuksuk, who is the greatgranddaughter of the last shaman of the north.He said the producer was able to provide good ideas for the teenage girl's character, as well as information about life and culture in her community. This resulted in details being added, such as traditional tattoos and clothing.

Source: text adapted from learningenglish.voanews.com.

2. What do you think about including indigenous characters in comic books? Discuss your answer as a class.

3. What makes this new superhero special? Write your answer on the lines below.

UNIT 2

Lesson 4·Culture and Heritage

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