B.C. school material referencing ‘squaw’ pulled for review

A complaint from a parent about a classroom assignment to match the word “squaw” to “Aboriginal woman” has prompted a publisher to remove a book for review and is raising questions about how schools should teach controversial topics.

A Vancouver woman took to social media over the weekend to express her shock about educational material used at Templeton Secondary School in Vancouver related to the graphic novel Susanna Moodie: Roughing it in the Bush.

Publisher Margie Wolfe of Second Story Press apologized Monday and said the book had been removed from the company’s website for review, along with all other material with content related to Indigenous history, peoples, and communities.

“We take very seriously the criticisms of this guide and sincerely apologize for the hurt and offence we have caused,” Wolfe said in a statement.

“We appreciate the efforts made by everyone who called attention to the guide, particularly the family in Vancouver, British Columbia, who were so hurt by the use of the resource in the classroom.”

The woman, whose name isn’t on her social media account, said she was livid about the “stomach-twisting” lesson plan. She could not be reached for comment.

The novel is an adaptation of a Canadian classic first published in 1852, in which the word squaw shows up 39 times. It was accompanied by a recently developed teaching guide that describes the book’s language as politically incorrect.

One of the exercises asks students to match terms with their “appropriate language” definitions, which for squaw is “an Aboriginal woman.”

“Common prejudices in the nineteenth century resulting from ... racism perpetrated by white Europeans against blacks and Aboriginals were reflected in the everyday language people used to describe themselves and each other,” the teachers’ resource guide says.

“Today it is unacceptable to use words such as Indian, squaw, darkie, Negro, Yankee, and papist. The use of such language in this book should be viewed in the context of its time in history.”

The Vancouver School Board is looking into the context in which the materials were used in the classroom, superintendent John Lewis said in a single-sentence statement.

Glen Hansman, president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, said it is important for instructors to engage with students on fraught subjects rather than shy away from them.

“The responsibility of the teacher then is to unpack that use of language and to situate it in the historical context and to do things in a way that is sensitive to students in the classroom,” Hansman said.

“My understanding is that is exactly what was happening in the particular classroom that triggered this incident.”