Author Joseph Boyden defends indigenous heritage after investigation |
Author Joseph Boyden defends indigenous heritage after investigation
The Toronto Star
2016-12-26
Nicole Thompson
The Canadian Press
Author responds after investigation by Aboriginal Peoples Television Network into his background.
A celebrated Canadian author who writes about First Nations heritage and culture is defending himself on Twitter after his ancestry was questioned.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Joseph Boyden said he is of “mostly Celtic heritage,” but he also has Nipmuc roots on his father’s side and Ojibway roots on his mother’s.
Boyden has won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and his work was nominated for the Governor General’s award. He is a member of the Order of Canada and was an honorary witness at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
He made his remarks in response to an Aboriginal Peoples Television Network investigation by award-winning reporter Jorge Barrera.
The investigation digs into the different claims of indigenous ancestry Boyden has made throughout his life, and the evidence — or lack thereof — to back it up.
Barrera wrote that the author is predominantly Celtic and has also referred to having Metis, Ojibway, Mi’kmaq and Nipmuc heritage.
He said Boyden sometimes referred to himself as Anishinabe, which includes the “culturally related” Ojibway, Odawa and Algonquin peoples.
In his statement, Boyden said that he mistakenly said he was Metis, which is traditionally applied to descendants of French traders and trappers and indigenous women in the Canadian northwest…
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Tags: Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, APTN, Jorge Barrera, Joseph Boyden, Nicole Thompson, The Toronto Star, Toronto Star