A tired old colonial narrative is neither tired nor old

The following story in the March 8, 2023 edition of Manitoulin Expositor, Northern Ontario's oldest newspaper, printer, and publisher since 1879, and a winner of the Michener Award for Public Service Journalism, is about Josh Manitowabi, an Anishinaabe man just given a tenure track position in Brock University’s history department as a Professor of Indigenous History.

Manitowabi said he was grateful for the pathfinders who went before him, individuals such as Basil Johnston and Cecil King whose work he is now studying. “Basil Johnston’s archives are held at McMaster University,” he said.

His success story led Peter Best to write a letter to the editor congratulating Manitowabi for his accomplishments and encouraging his research efforts.

Sadly, this immediately led to angry letters, two of which are posted below, critiquing Best’s careful documentation of the lives and views of Basil Johnston, Cecil King, and other influential individuals closely associated with Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.

Accordingly, I invite readers to submit their own views on this issue.