Book review: Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation- Anishinabek News

October 14, 2024

Sniderman and Sanderson in Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation offer an exploration of two neighbouring communities in Manitoba nestled in a shared valley, yet seemingly miles apart. The work follows the history of the First Nation community of Waywayseecappo and the neighbouring Euro-Canadian town of Rossburn. Each chapter, as the history and contemporary experiences unfold, presents a dual narrative of experiences – Settler and Anishinaabeg. In following the two stories, Sniderman and Sanderson ably show the discordant, and very occasionally similar, experiences of the Anishinaabeg and the Ukrainian settlers in the Birdtail Valley. For example, the discordance is seen through work of the Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton; he welcomed Ukrainian settlers to the prairies, offering cheap land and assistance in creating farms, whiling undermining First Nations farming and denying them land.  Other discordant stories focus on the Federal Government purposely underfunding First Nation education that resulted in a disparity in educational experiences between white and Indigenous children.

Read More: https://anishinabeknews.ca/2024/10/14/book-review-valley-of-the-birdtail-an-indian-reserve-a-white-town-and-the-road-to-reconciliation/