A chronicle of the tension, inequality and path to reconciliation between two Manitoba communities has won the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for 2023.
Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)’s Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation won the $12,000 prize, which is awarded annually to the book the jury sees as the best at tackling subjects “involving Canada, Canadians, and the Canadian nation in international affairs.”
Published in August 2022 by HarperCollins, Valley of the Birdtail explores the relationship between the town of Rossburn and the neighbouring Waywayseecappo First Nation — the disparity of income, access to education, racism and more — as it follows generations of two families, one from each community.
Valley of the Birdtail
The prize, which honours former Free Press editor John Wesley Dafoe, will be awarded at an event in the fall, and the authors invited to give a talk on the project.
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Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson edits the Free Press books section, and also writes about wine, beer and spirits.
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