Durham school board creates controversy after children’s book pulled from shelves

David A. Robertson, the award-winning Native American author of a children’s book pulled from library shelves at the Durham District School Board, calls a DDSB discussion of the matter a “sham.”

At its regular board meeting Tuesday night, the DDSB discussed the controversy surrounding the temporary removal of the big bear of their libraries.

The meeting heard that the book is under review following concerns raised by some indigenous families in the district, which is east of Toronto.

“When these concerns are raised, swift action will always be taken,” Erin Elmhurst, superintendent of indigenous and global studies, said at the meeting. The board emphasized that a final decision on the book has not been made.

Robertson, who is a member of the House of Norway Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg, declined to be interviewed for this story, but in tweets, the Governor General’s Award-winning author expressed disappointment with the process and said he is committed to guaranteeing this “censorship”. Does not continue

“The DDSB board meeting was a farce full of platitudes and political responses,” Robertson tweeted Tuesday night. “We still don’t know why. the big bear was withdrawn or what could harm indigenous students. I saw tonight exactly what I have been hearing from the DDSB teachers all week. Fear and frustration.”

the big bear it was pulled from school shelves at the end of March. It is the second book in Robertson’s Narnia-inspired Misewa Saga about two indigenous children who discover a portal from their adopted home to another world. According to an internal email obtained by The Globe and Mail, DDSB librarians were told that it had come to the board’s attention that the book contained content “that could be harmful to Indigenous students and families.”

The board did not tell The Globe how many complaints had been filed. In an interview, Elmhurst said there were concerns “that some of the messages could perpetuate discrimination” and the Indigenous families called for the matter to be investigated.

“Their concerns are for themselves and their children and ensuring that indigenous rights are respected,” Elmhurst told The Globe. He spoke about the importance of prioritizing the concerns of the original land rights holders in the Durham area.

DDSB Trustee Linda Stone said at the meeting Tuesday that she had spoken with Robertson, who said the Cree knowledge keepers gave her the go-ahead for the book. “How does the board determine what is acceptable and what is not when it has received approval from the knowledge gatekeepers?” she asked.

Another trustee, Michael Barrett, said: “We have created great distress in various communities across Canada.”

In response to Robertson’s tweet on Tuesday, a DDSB official accused him of harassment. “It is disappointing that he continues to harass and scold Indian families who raised concerns,” wrote Michelle Evans, facilitator for the DDSB’s Department of Indian Education. “This is their right under Undrip and locally implemented policies through strong consultation with original rights holders from this area and families.” (UNDRIP is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).

The DDSB said it would not make Evans available for an interview.

Elmhurst couldn’t say how long the review might take, but said it hoped to host meetings with various stakeholders in the coming weeks. “I want to honor the process completely,” she said. She added that she hoped to have the problem resolved by the end of the school year, but she couldn’t commit to that.

She told The Globe that the big bear it is one of three books currently under review. The board declined to reveal the names of the other books, but the internal email indicates that the books are Louis Riel et pays him unlikely by Andre Leblanc and wolf sisters by Patricia Miller-Schroeder.

“At this time, we ask that all schools remove these titles from regular circulation in their library and refrain from using them,” the email said. of Elmhurst and two other board officials.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, some trustees criticized the board’s handling of the case, particularly the lack of transparency and the way in which the author and his publisher, Penguin Random House Canada (PRHC), discovered that the book had been removed via leaked email. -mails instead of direct communication.

The board said it is not its practice to contact the author or publisher before this evaluation type. Communication was further hampered when emails from the publisher, attempting to obtain information from the DDSB, got caught in the DDSB’s spam filter.

On Wednesday, the board said it was trying to set up a meeting with the publisher. PRHC said it was still looking for answers.

“We seek clarification as to why the big bear ordered to be removed from DDSB school libraries, if in fact removed from shelves pending review, and what exactly is the board’s procedure and timeline for conducting reviews of questioned books,” said a statement sent by email to The Globe by PRHC. Beth Lockley. “In a time of real need for truth and reconciliation, we remain deeply concerned that students do not have access to this book in their schools.”

the big bear it was distributed to school libraries as part of the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program, which offers curated lists of children’s books to schools, public libraries, and families.

The program director calls the situation in Durham grim. “This book deals with difficult subjects but in a fantasy world and is much loved,” said Meredith Tutching. “David is an excellent writer and I think all children should have the opportunity to read his books and learn from them.”

reading forest was contacted in January by the DDSB. “But they didn’t tell us they were taking the books out; they said they were checking them out,” Tutching said.

Copies of selected books enter nearly 2,500 institutions across Canada through this program, but are not part of the curriculum. It is essentially a book club and awards program intended to encourage children to read.

Under new DDSB policies, all books will be screened in advance, Elmhurst told The Globe. the big bear it was not screened beforehand, he said.

But according to the DDSB website, the Indian Education Policy and Indian Education Procedure on Classroom Practices reference learning resource guiding principles that state that “access to challenged material shall not be restricted during the reconsideration process.” “.

The board has an active Aboriginal education department and has created an all-Aboriginal curriculum for its 11th grade English class that will be in all DDSB schools in September. “We value indigenous authorship and literature,” education director Norah Marsh said at the meeting.

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