By Lauren Root – Staff Writer 

The Apr. 4 edition of the Morris House Reading Series (hosted by the English department and sponsored by the Decolonization Circle, Academic Enrichment and the Ogden Glass Lecture Series) brought the co-authors of Valley of the Birdtail to Bishop’s University. This acclaimed novel was released in 2022 by Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashi) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman. Both authors spoke in the Gait to an eager crowd about their personal histories as Indigenous men, as well as educating students and faculty about their writing process. 

Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashi) is Swampy Cree, Beaver clan of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and is a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds the Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. Professor Sanderson has also served as a senior Advisor to the Ontario government, working in the office of the Attorney General and Aboriginal Affairs. Andrew Stobo Sniderman is a scholar, lawyer and journalist hailing from Montreal. His work has been featured in the Globe and Mail, New York Times and Maclean’s. Sniderman has also argued before the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as served as the human rights policy advisor to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs. 

This edition of the Morris House Reading Series began with a traditional Indigenous song to showcase family healing and reconciliation after residential schools and the 60s Scoop. 

Both authors began to speak about their novel, which is an intimate recount of the history of Canada. It follows two families, one who lives on an Ojibwe reservation, and the other who lives in a town founded by settlers. It runs the experiment on what happens if a community is integrated using proper education and being allowed to develop credit, while the other community is denied all of that. As mentioned by the authors, it shows “a staggering inequality” in the history of Canadians, and Valley of the Birdtail is an attempt to explain how that happens. 

            Douglas Sanderson and Andrew Stobo Sniderman spoke at length about the difficulties of co-writing their novel and finding a balance between having both of their ideas fully represented. One of their major concerns was to figure out how to have both voices represented while being truthful to both authors. They ended up making a system where each author had superior authority over a certain chapter, to try and minimize conflict. 

            Andrew Stobo Sniderman spoke about the importance of being able to co-author this book, stating: “If we cannot write a book together, Canada cannot talk about reconciliation.” Compromise must happen at all levels of Canadian society to properly have reconciliation. 

            Speaking about interviewing sources, Andrew Stobo Sniderman talked about how to make the best version of the story, while finding the people who carry the weight of the narrative. If people can see themselves in the characters, the goal is to see that there is a part of you in these characters and to make it as realistic as possible. 

            This edition of the Morris House Reading Series provided an educational opportunity for all those in attendance to learn about decolonization and reconciliation. While speaking about their book, Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashi) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman were able to share tips on how to properly interview sources and the importance of having their truth shine through the writing.