On the Turn

On the Turn is a story published in comic format as a gambling prevention and treatment effort to raise awareness and spark conversation among Aboriginal young people living in Canada. It is about a young woman who becomes addicted to poker through new school companions because of social pressure, particularly the desire to have friends and have the same material possessions as her peers in her new school. The story was written and illustrated by a professional First Nations comic book artist.

On the Turn's heroine resolves her addiction through counselling at her local friendship centre and through the support of her parents; she is also obtains employment to make amends to her family. The story was focus group tested with youth; and, as reported by Sean Muir of the Healthy Aboriginal Network (HAN), its publisher, one young woman volunteered that she was learning poker from father and questioned whether she wanted to continue to learn the game, as a result of the story.

It is a project carried out by the Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada-based Healthy Aboriginal Network (HAN), a non-profit endeavour to promote the health, literacy, and wellness of First Nations youth through the use of visual art as a medium to effect change. They have released or have in production comics on diabetes prevention, suicide prevention, staying in school, the residential school, pride in community, living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), physical activity, and youth mental health. (Please see related summaries below and the Healthy Aboriginal Network website.)