Similarities between Joseph Boyden story and Ojibway healer’s published work trigger questions

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12 thoughts on “Similarities between Joseph Boyden story and Ojibway healer’s published work trigger questions

  1. Ontario_Ininew says:

    A big thanks to Jorge Barrera and APTN for their factual reporting on Boyden-gate. It always seemed to me that it was just certain facts that should be made known were being reported and it was left to the reader to decide for themselves. Can’t see how that could be considered an “attack”. Listen to the Feb 27/17 Boyden interview on CBC Radio’s As It Happens, such twisting in the wind. Only helped me form my opinion that someone is misrepresenting himself. And that plagiarized story sounds to me like one man’s experience or story-telling, not a traditional story, btw and IMO. Never heard of a traditional story with guys dressed in western-style suits! Just come clean and start over!

  2. Joseph Boyden stepped up right after Kevin Annett was outed.
    I watched while many followed down one rabbit hole to another.
    Why as indigenous people do we allow people into our circles to help us?? to speak for us??
    There’s obviously something in it for them. …MONEY.. yours, your childrens and grandchildrens ..FAME.. do you hear my tiny fiddle playing…
    and then I read that Joseph Boyden is worth somewhere around 12 million dollars..did he thankyou.
    That money could /should belong to a real indigenous author who could also do openings/closings like Richard Wagamese or Lee Maracle to name my favorites.. OR are we letting pretenders do that too..
    Is it because as a non-aboriginal pretending to be..they clean up better than we do..honestly I prefer the smell of fire..tobacco, sweetgrass and sage over OLD (boy) SPICE.. Anyday..
    My Elder has always told me to go ahead and read everything I can get my hands on BUT know who the writer is..who his people are..who claims him …and I’ ll add the new one I love…what color are your beads…
    Joseph Boyden should have to return anything he received from Indspire and “someone else” (I could use one of those pretenders right now ) should get that Order of Canada revoked..he’ really making a mockery of both organizations..

  3. A wannabe alleged billionth breed who thinks his white entitlements transfers to indigenous ancestry….like the metis, bill c’s and non status….his claims are fictional and are allowed to occur because Canada’s colonialistic policies exist to further dilute, weaken and erode our inherent rights

  4. the book ron n Judith published were real stories from a well respected medicine man, gilbert oshawee. when gilbert oshawee passed rons father took the book for safe keeping. ron wasn’t suppose to publish giberts stories, but he did anyways for public gain n financial gain. he also took old ojibwe games from gilbert, ron gave the games to his family members. let it be known the stories ron n Judith published were not rons stories. the family members of gilbert oshawee want thebook returned but rons family is refusing to give back the book n old ojibwe games.

  5. Wow. I don’t think there is doubt about the true character of Joseph Boyden anymore.
    A person who would steal stories and call them his own is also the sort of person who would claim to be descended from a half dozen indigenous tribes without a shred of proof.

    Is Boyden really the kind of professor you would want teaching your children?

    And now he’s hiding behind his lawyer. Maybe he should be the new Milo Yiannopoulos at Bitefart Media.

  6. I applaud APTN & Jorge Barrera for doing the kind of journalism that deserves to be called investigative.

  7. No journalist would ever place “plagiarism” in quotations. This is an opinion piece, not journalism. If it was intended as journalism, you have much to learn about the trade.

  8. This theft of stories- much like identity- go hand in hand. Our stories hold knowledge and power on many levels. Thats why we have protocols to honour and acknowledge them. Its not surprising if Boyden took stories and claimed them as his own- many were speaking to this issue in December.

  9. I think there will be more instances of plagiarism found in Boyden’s work, if someone starts digging. I wondered when The Orenda came out if some of the scenes were plagiarized from the novel The Son. The torture scenes didn’t seem historically accurate, and sounded very much like the scenes in The Son, a novel about the Comanche.

    1. From The Orenda Book Reviews on Linkis:

      “An extraordinary work that sets the traditional cowboy and Indian story on its head. One of those rare books that manages to be both a work of art and a page-turner, The Orenda is destined to be a classic.”
      —Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son
      http://linkis.com/com/d0ayV

      So I think this suggestion may not hold up.

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