Shaughnessy Cohen Prize finalists Sniderman & Sanderson (Amo Binashii) on Valley of the Birdtail

“As Canada grapples with a difficult history of residential schools and discrimination against Indigenous peoples, Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) tell a moving story that educates and provides potential paths to reconciliation. Valley of the Birdtail not only elicits empathy, but also moves us to action, shedding a shining light on our individual responsibility to respect each other’s humanity. 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.”
- 2023 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize Jury (Terri E. Givens, Nik Nanos, and Jacques Poitras)
About the Book
In the town of Rossburn, Manitoba, once settled by Ukrainian immigrants who fled poverty and persecution, family income is near the national average and more than a third of adults have graduated from university. Ten minutes west on the Waywayseecappo First Nation, 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. Valley of the Birdtail follows multiple generations of two families, one white and one Indigenous. The book shows how two communities became separate and unequal, reflecting much of what has gone wrong in relations between Indigenous Peoples and settlers.
About Andrew Stobo Sniderman
Andrew Stobo Sniderman is a writer, lawyer and Rhodes Scholar from Montreal. He has written for the New York Times, the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s. His profile of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools won the award for best print feature from the Canadian Association of Journalists. He has also argued before the Supreme Court of Canada, served as the human rights policy advisor to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, and worked for a judge of South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
About Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)
Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) is Beaver Clan, from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. He is a Fulbright Scholar, and holds the Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. Professor Sanderson has served as senior Advisor to the government of Ontario, in the offices of the Attorney General and Aboriginal Affairs. He lives in Toronto.
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