SVI Library Book of the Month: The Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town and the Road to Reconciliation with authors Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson

Friday, September 30th, marks #NationalDayForTruthAndReconciliation, a day dedicated to honouring the survivors of Residential Schools among the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities and remembering those who never returned.

We invite you to show your support for Indigenous-led initiatives and voices on this important day. In recognition of this occasion, our SVI Library Book of the Month is 'The Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation' by authors Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson.

"Divided by a beautiful valley and 150 years of racism, the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve have been neighbours 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 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 fled 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." 
– Harper Collins Canada

We encourage you to purchase this book or borrow it from the library. Additionally, you can watch a video of the Book Presentation with Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson at SVI.