N.L. schools ordered to destroy new books containing 'inaccurate information' on Indigenous people

Patrick Butler · Radio-Canada

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Education ordered its schools to destroy thousands of books purchased two years agone due to the fact that they contained "inaccurate information" astir the territories, civilization and past of the province's Indigenous peoples. 

On Feb. 3, schoolhouse administrators were told to shred immoderate 8,600 textbooks, purchased for $202,140 successful January 2023, a determination made aft the government's Indigenous Education Advisory Committee reported the books "did not accurately bespeak the taste world successful Newfoundland and Labrador," according to section spokesperson Lynn Robinson.

On Wednesday, the section listed the galore problems identified with 4 books successful the Passe à l'action determination la réconciliation bid utilized by Grade 7 and 8 French immersion students.

In a statement, it said the textbooks bespeak that the Turtle Island instauration communicative is utilized by each Indigenous peoples, which is not the case. It besides said the books see "stereotypical" descriptions of Indigenous lifestyles, citing arsenic an example: "eastern peoples hunt caribou and occidental radical fish."

"Some Newfoundland and Labrador Indigenous peoples did not spot [an] close depiction of who they are and their related territories," reads the statement, adding that the books see "inaccurate statements that nary Indigenous peoples wage taxes, each person escaped post-secondary education, etc."

According to the department, the textbooks besides authorities that elders are the oldest members of Indigenous communities and that each Indigenous groups person clan systems, which is not needfully existent for Inuit and First Nations successful Newfoundland and Labrador. 

In addition, the section said that portion the books notation erstwhile premier curate Stephen Harper's apology to residential schoolhouse victims successful 2008, they marque nary notation of erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau's apology to Newfoundland and Labrador survivors successful 2017.

Provincial Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell declined an interrogation Thursday.

'Did anyone work them?'

"How did they extremity up spending this magnitude of wealth connected a assets lone to recognize a twelvemonth and a fractional aboriginal determination was inaccurate information? ... Did anyone work them?" said NDP Leader Jim Dinn.

"The section says it's regular for them to dispose of outdated and inaccurate information, but here's my question: these books are comparatively new, they were introduced successful Sept. 2023…. This was a comparatively caller resource, truthful however did it get into the schools successful the archetypal place?"

Radio-Canada obtained a transcript of 1 of the textbooks, a 40-page publication entitled Passe à l'action determination la réconciliation - Des communautés unies, whose past leafage shows that the book's advisory and revision committees included nary representatives from Newfoundland and Labrador.

In January, Dinn shared with Radio-Canada a leaked memo sent to the province's English-language schools instructing principals to "destroy" textbooks from the Passe à l'action determination la réconciliation series.

"We are perpetuating stereotypes, erstwhile the full intent of Indigenous acquisition is to interruption down those stereotypes," Dinn said. "This is not helpful."

The section said schools were asked to destruct the books "so that they would not stay successful circulation and hazard perpetuating inaccurate information."

"It is communal signifier to inquire schools to dispose of delisted resources which are outdated oregon nary longer suitable/approved. These would usually beryllium shredded," it said.

The books person not yet been replaced. The department said it is moving with the Indigenous advisory committee to measure the disposable acquisition resources.

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