Wordfest Presents Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson

Wordfest Presents Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson

Hosted by Phil Fontaine

Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) return to Wordfest's Memorial Park Library stage to continue the conversation sparked by their bestselling book Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and The Road to Reconciliation. We are so honoured that this special event will be hosted by Phil Fontaine, three-term national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. It starts at 7:00 PM MT and will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing, with copies of the book available to purchase at the event thanks to Owl's Nest Books.

Valley of the Birdtail was just shortlisted for the 2023 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. “Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) tell a moving story that educates and provides potential paths to reconciliation,” said the Writers' Trust jury. “This is a masterfully written and accessible book which will resonate well beyond Canada as we work toward policies that create a better future for all.”

We are grateful to HarperCollins Canada for making it possible for Wordfest connect you with these extraordinary authors.

About Valley of the Birdtail

A heart-rending true story about racism and reconciliation.

Divided by a beautiful valley and 150 years of racism, the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve have been neighbors nearly as long as Canada has been a country. Their story reflects much of what has gone wrong in relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. It also offers, in the end, an uncommon measure of hope.

Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation is about how two communities became separate and unequal – and what it means for the rest of us. In Rossburn, once settled by Ukrainian immigrants who feld poverty and persecution, family income is near the national average and more than a third of adults have graduated from university. In Waywayseecappo, the average family lives below the national poverty line and less than a third of adults have graduated from high school, with many haunted by their time in residential schools.

The book follows multiple generations of two families, one white and one Indigenous and weaves their lives into the larger story of Canada. It is a story of villans and heroes, irony and idealism, racism and reconciliation. Valley of the Birdtail has the ambition to change the way we think about our past and show a path to a better future.

Owl’s Nest Books (Calgary) | Calgary Public Library

About Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)

Douglas Sanderson is the Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and has served as a senior policy advisor to Ontario’s attorney general and minister of Indigenous affairs. He is Swampy Cree, Beaver clan, of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

About Andrew Stobo Sniderman

Andrew Stobo Sniderman is a writer, lawyer and Rhodes scholar from Montréal. He has published reporting and opinions in the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, the Toronto Star, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen, and England’s Sunday Times. His profile of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools won the award for best print feature of 2011 from the Canadian Association of Journalists. As a lawyer, Stobo Sniderman has argued before the Supreme Court and advocated for Indigenous clients. He has also served as the human rights policy advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as a law clerk for a judge of South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

Website: stobosniderman.ca
Follow: Twitter @stobosniderman 

About Host Phil Fontaine

Phil Fontaine is a lifelong advocate for First Nations people. Former chief of the Sagkeeng First Nation, he served as grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and, for three consecutive terms, as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He successfully established a process for the settlement of specific land claims, employment equity settlements for Aboriginal workers, and the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Curiouser?

• Most Canadians support reconciliation. But underneath, many fear what it might mean. Two authors offer a road map. -Brian Bethune, The Star
• A Gripping Story About Terrible Wrongs: Valley of the Birdtail Draws Lessons for Canada -University of Toronto