Book Club: June 2, 2025, 2-4pm, – Fellows and External Fellows

June 2, 2025, 2-4pm, – Fellows and External Fellows

The Valley of the Birdtail by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) (2022)

Discussion leader: Janet Paterson

This book offers an opportunity to review Canadian history after the late 1880’s. according to the perspective of two communities in western Canada – one Indigenous and another a white Ukrainian settler community — each divided by the Birdtail River. The Ukrainians come thanks to Clifford Sifton’s ambitious program to populate and to settle the prairie provinces. Using the lives and voices of the town’s characters, the book illustrates the starkly different development of the two communities, illustrating why the Ukrainian community flourished while the native community remained in poverty. The book ends, however, on a hopeful note. Recently, the federal government has funded the Indigenous educational system at the same level as the Ukrainian community. A new partnership has begun between the two communities which has proven to be productive for both. (Available in all formats; 316 pages plus notes)

The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/s9Zb64JXz4

The deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.

If you have any questions, please contact the organizer – Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.