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“The meeting on board the DDSB was a farce, full of banal words and political non-answers. We still don’t know why the Big Dipper was withdrawn or what could harm indigenous students.
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April 20, 2022 • 6 hours ago • 6 minutes reading • 45 comments The book “The Big Dipper” by local author David A. Robertson was downloaded by the Durhan School Board for “review”.
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An award-winning indigenous author condemned the Ontario school district’s “outrageous” decision to remove his book from the library shelves as part of a review process, saying he still had no idea why it happened, and condemned the recent board meeting as ” farce ”. full of banal words and political non-answers “
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On Tuesday, trustees of the Durham County School Board (DDSB) accepted a proposal asking district officials to explain the removal of books and the criteria by June 1, as well as to list topics that could trigger the removal or review of books.
“We need more information. We need to know which books are being removed and why they are being removed, “board chairman Carolyn Morton said in an interview Wednesday.
The move comes after news that a book by David A. Robertson, a two-time Governor-General’s Literary Award winner, has been reviewed by the school board and removed from school shelves. Robertson, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, said the area should have at least left his book on the shelves while they reviewed it. His withdrawal was tantamount to “censorship.”
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“The meeting on board the DDSB was a farce, full of banal words and political non-answers. We still don’t know why Ursa Major was withdrawn or what could harm indigenous students. Tonight I saw exactly what I heard from DDSB teachers all week. Fear and disappointment, “he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The episode raised a number of questions – similar to those in other jurisdictions – about what kind of literature is appropriate for children and how this work is evaluated. In the United States, the American Library Association reported “dramatic growth” in efforts to ban books for those who are “gay, queer, or transgender, or who tell stories of people who are black, local, or colored.”
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Robertson called the claim that his book harms indigenous students “outrageous,” saying all of his books were “written to empower indigenous students.”
“We need to put more books by local authors on the shelves, not take them out. It’s an insult to teachers, librarians and children, “Robertson wrote on Twitter. “They say my book is bad for children. The irony is thick when taking the truth from children, pulling books off the shelves is the real harm. “
When it came to Wednesday, Robertson declined to be interviewed, saying he had to back down. He referred to his publicist Penguin Random House Canada, who in turn forwarded the National Post to the company’s communications department. No response was received by the time of the press.
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Robertson’s book, the second in the Miseva saga, tells the story of Eli and Morgan, two indigenous children who travel to another world called Askī through a portal in their foster home. There, they encounter animals that “connect them to traditional ways and help them meet real-world challenges,” according to a description of the Penguin Random House Canada series.
Nora Marsh, the district’s director of education, said the school board had adopted a policy that “takes anti-colonial approaches and actions and actively identifies, prevents and eliminates anti-root racism.”
The complaint, she said, comes from indigenous families who want to keep the area “accountable for policies to ensure that we do not adversely affect and harm their children.” As a result, the area reviews the Big Dipper.
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“We appreciate the authorship and literature of the local population,” Marsh said, adding that no final decision has been made on the book.
In a statement Wednesday, the DDSB said teachers and librarians “regularly review” library content “for books that are no longer relevant or that may contain content that supports harmful stories, racial insults and discriminatory tendencies, assumptions and stereotypes.”
Waubgeshig Rice, author and journalist for Wasauksing First Nation, said in an interview that taking books from local authors off the shelves risks being “regressive.”
Having so many local voices and books by local authors in the classroom is essential
Rice Waubgeshig
“In the worst case, I think it takes us a long way back, and a lot of people have worked really hard to get materials from local authors in the classroom,” Rice said. “In the classroom, it is essential to have as many indigenous voices as possible and books by local authors.
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The school board said the complaints were made before the books were taken off the shelves in early March. It was not clear how many books were being reviewed, and the board said it “did not want to share” the nature of the complaints.
Morton said she found out about the removal of the books from media reports.
“DDSB has been in the news for the last few days. This is not good for our reputation. We need to have more specifics. We need to be informed, “Morton said.
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The Ontario School Board reviews every book in every library to remove those “harmful” to students.
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Marsh told trustees that the district did not initially seek Robertson, although he said Tuesday that they have now done so.
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“It is our responsibility to serve the students of this land,” Marsh said. “We did not inform him that there were still questions because it was premature.
Commissioner Nicki Lundqvist said she had heard indigenous students who were upset by the district’s decision-making, noting that “there is no equality among indigenous students on our council” and called for transparency in the review.
“We still have the values of the charter, freedom of speech, and I know we certainly don’t want to be involved in censorship, and we also don’t want to do things that are harmful to indigenous communities,” Lundqvist told a meeting on Tuesday.
There may be challenging and awkward topics in children’s books, Rice said, but the entire student body should not be deprived of a particular book. There may even have been grounds for the initial concerns, but Rice said Robertson could have been brought in to discuss the issues raised by his work.
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“These stories may be awkward or some of the details may be awkward, but awkward details have been at the heart of the curriculum literature for decades,” Rice said. “Just look at every Shakespearean story that has to do with murder, rape, infidelity, whatever.”
The review, trustees said, will include seeking feedback from Indigenous students and families, the Indigenous Advisory Circle and Keenanow’s Indigenous Teachers Network. “We continue to work with members of the local indigenous community who expressed initial concerns about this book before sharing more information publicly,” a statement posted on the district’s website said.
On Tuesday, trustees noted that 21 questions had been sent by the public, including a question about specific complaints so parents could discuss them with their children, and another asking why the council acted as “guardians” rather than educators.
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Marsh did not specifically answer the questions. “We are committed to this process, although it may cause some discomfort to disrupt systemic oppression,” she said.
Jim Markowski, associate director of fair education – he is responsible for tackling “institutional racism and oppression”, said in a statement from 2021 announcing his transition to that role – he told trustees he acknowledged “sensitivity around decision-making including an indigenous author “.
“However, it is our duty and responsibility to respond to and address the concerns raised by students and indigenous families,” Markovski said.
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson
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