{{short description|Canadian writer}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Joseph Boyden | image = Joseph Boyden - Eden Mills Writers Festival - 2013 (DanH-2116) (cropped).jpg | alt = Joseph Boyden at the Eden Mills Writers Festival in 2013 | caption = Boyden at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2013 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|10|31}}<ref>{{cite news |title=The making of Joseph Boyden: Indigenous identity and a complicated history |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/joseph-boyden/article35881215/|publisher=The Globe and Mail|access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref> | birth_place = Willowdale, North York, Ontario, Canada | occupation = professor, writing mentor, novelist and short story writer | nationality = Canadian | period = | genre = historical fiction, First Nations heritage and culture | notableworks = ''Three Day Road'', ''Through Black Spruce'', ''The Orenda'' | influences = | influenced = | website = | alma_mater = Brebeuf College School; York University, University of New Orleans }} '''Joseph Boyden''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CM}} (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer.<ref name="mynameis"/><ref name="shapeshift"/> He is best known for writing about First Nations culture. ''Three Day Road'', a novel about two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War I, was inspired by Ojibwa Francis Pegahmagabow, the legendary First World War sniper. Joseph Boyden's second novel, ''Through Black Spruce'', follows the story of Will, son of one of the characters in ''Three Day Road''. The third novel in the Bird family trilogy was published in 2013 as ''The Orenda''.
==Life and career== Joseph Boyden grew up in Willowdale, North York, Ontario, and attended the Jesuit-run Brebeuf College School. The ninth of eleven children, he is the son of Blanche (Gosling) and Raymond Wilfrid Boyden,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niagara-news.com/authors-claims-questioned/|title=Author's claims questioned|date=18 March 2017|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=13 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113030026/https://www.niagara-news.com/authors-claims-questioned/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="shapeshift"/> a medical officer renowned for his bravery, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was the most highly decorated medical officer of World War II.<ref>[http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/profile.cfm?article_id=6573 Author Profile: Joseph Boyden] in ''Quill & Quire''.</ref>
Boyden studied humanities at York University and received an MFA in Fiction from the University of New Orleans in 1995. He was a professor in the Aboriginal Student Program at Northern College during 1995–1997. He taught at the University of New Orleans during 1998–2010, where he served as writer-in-residence. He was also a lecturer with the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program during 2013–2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://creativewriting.ubc.ca/program-information/faculty-staff/joseph-boyden/ |access-date=March 7, 2014 |title=Faculty: Joseph Boyden}}</ref>
In 2014, Boyden accepted a commission from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to write a ballet about residential schools in Canada. His ballet ''Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation'' premiered in 2014 and travelled across the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joseph Boyden wades into 'very sacred' territory with residential school ballet|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/joseph-boyden-ballet-reconciliation-ottawa-1.3425582|access-date=1 February 2016}}</ref>
==Politics== In 2015, Boyden condemned Stephen Harper during the 2015 Canadian federal election, calling his politics "race-baiting" and "fear-mongering".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Berger|first1=Yael|title=Author Joseph Boyden takes on Stephen Harper|date=9 October 2015 |url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/author-joseph-boyden-takes-on-stephen-harper/|access-date=10 October 2015}}</ref>
==Personal life== Boyden was married to author Amanda Boyden from 1995 to 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trueself.com/marriage-story-2650143192.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126220322/https://www.trueself.com/marriage-story-2650143192.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2021|title=Who Uses Their Ex-wife to Sell a Valentine's Day Writing Workshop?|author=Joseph Goodrich|date=26 January 2021}}</ref> In 2020, Amanda Boyden published a memoir, ''I Got the Dog'', in which she wrote about the circumstances that brought on the end of their marriage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/rape-infidelity-and-the-detonation-of-a-marriage-novelist-amanda-boydens-tumultuous-life-has-led-to-new-memoir|work=The National Post|title=Rape, infidelity and the detonation of a marriage: Novelist Amanda Boyden's tumultuous life has led to new memoir|date=28 September 2020|author=Laurie Gough}}</ref>
Boyden lives near Georgian Bay, Ontario with his wife Laura and their two sons. In 2019, Boyden wrote about coming home and finding new life in ''Georgian Bay Today'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/ca88a406-8790-4853-b05a-1962b6df2bd8/downloads/Georgian%20Bay%20Today-Fall%202019-Email.pdf |title=The Shortest Season |publisher=Georgian Bay Today |first=Joseph |last=Boyden |year=2019 |archive-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729191424/https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/ca88a406-8790-4853-b05a-1962b6df2bd8/downloads/Georgian%20Bay%20Today-Fall%202019-Email.pdf}}</ref> He is the co-creator of Sweetwater Writers Workshop in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. Sweetwater Writers Workshop offers one-on-one mentorships, creative writing workshops and hosts retreats.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://swwritersworkshop.ca/|title=About Us |website=Sweet Water Writers Workshop |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref>
==Identification as First Nations== Joseph Boyden is primarily of Irish and Scottish ancestry, but has also said he has First Nations heritage. Boyden's self-identified Indigenous heritage became the subject of public dispute when Jorge Barrera published an investigation into Boyden's statements for APTN National News on 23 December 2016. The article focused on inconsistencies in Boyden's accounts of Indigenous heritage and a lack of support for his statements in his family tree. Boyden had previously said he had Mi'kmaq and Métis ancestry, and later said he had Nipmuc and Ojibway heritage. He had previously registered with the Ontario Métis Aboriginal Association, also known as the Woodland Métis Tribe.<ref name="themakingof" /> Barrera also described a 1956 article about Boyden’s uncle Earl Boyden, an artist in Algonquin Park who was known as "Injun Joe", which reported that Earl had no "Indian blood".<ref name="shapeshift">{{cite news|title=Author Joseph Boyden's shape-shifting Indigenous identity|url=http://aptn.ca/news/2016/12/23/author-joseph-boydens-shape-shifting-indigenous-identity/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224143827/http://aptn.ca/news/2016/12/23/author-joseph-boydens-shape-shifting-indigenous-identity/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 24, 2016|work=APTN National News|date=23 December 2016|last=Barrera|first=Jorge}}</ref> However, Boyden's mother said that her son was researching her family's history, not her husband's.<ref name="np17" /> In response to the article, Boyden continued to assert his maternal Ojibway and paternal Nipmuc roots, but said he had only meant he was of mixed blood when he used the term Métis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/12/25/author-joseph-boyden-defends-indigenous-heritage-after-investigation_n_13854072.html|title=Joseph Boyden Defends Indigenous Ancestry After APTN Investigation|date=25 December 2016|website=HuffPost Canada}}</ref> Rebeka Tabobondung, editor of ''Muskrat Magazine'', said that Boyden had previously told her he was from the Wasauksing First Nation, like her, but she had been unable to confirm this. Boyden's family did own a private island near the community, however.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3914159/joseph-boyden-must-take-responsibility-for-misrepresenting-heritage-says-indigenous-writer-1.3907253|title=Joseph Boyden must take responsibility for misrepresenting heritage, says Indigenous writer|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref>
A number of Indigenous writers and researchers have stated that Boyden is not Indigenous, and that he does not have the right to speak on behalf of Indigenous communities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canadaland.com/question-joseph-boydens-indigenous-ancestry/|title=Why I Question Joseph Boyden's Indigenous Ancestry|date=December 24, 2016}}</ref> Indigenous writers, activists and politicians who have responded to Boyden's claims include Wab Kinew,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/there-is-room-in-our-circle-for-joseph-boyden/article33467823/|title=There is room in our circle for Joseph Boyden|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=3 January 2017|access-date=20 January 2017|last1=Kinew|first1=Wab}}</ref> Drew Hayden Taylor<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/can-joseph-boyden-make-amends-with-first-nations/article33618361/|title=Can Joseph Boyden make amends with First Nations?|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=13 January 2017|access-date=20 January 2017|last1=Taylor|first1=Drew Hayden}}</ref> Hayden King,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/joseph-boyden-where-are-you-from/article33441604/|title=Joseph Boyden, where are you from?|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=28 December 2016|access-date=20 January 2017|last1=King|first1=Hayden}}</ref> and Ryan McMahon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-colour-is-your-beadwork-joseph-boyden/|title=What Colour Is Your Beadwork, Joseph Boyden?|website=Vice|date=30 December 2016 }}</ref> Critics questioned whether his work was authentic, whether he had profited from his self-identification at the expense of people who were recognized First Nations citizens, and whether his statements or presentation of Indigenous subjects were harmful. Some commentators said that positions he had taken publicly undermined ongoing work in Indigenous communities.<ref name="themakingof" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/11/16/prominent-authors-face-backlash-over-letter-to-ubc-over-steven-galloway-firing.html|title=Prominent authors face backlash over letter to UBC over Steven Galloway firing - Toronto Star|newspaper=The Toronto Star|date=16 November 2016|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/what-it-means-to-be-indigenous-boyden-raises-difficult-questions-503886|title=What it means to be Indigenous: Boyden raises difficult questions|date=6 January 2017 |access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> David Newhouse, chairman of Indigenous studies at Trent University, said that he thought Boyden's self-identification was genuine but that his claims were vague and therefore couldn't be proven.<ref name="np17">{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/joseph-boydens-statement-about-his-indigenous-roots-doesnt-address-main-controversy-academics-say|title=Joseph Boyden's statement about his indigenous roots doesn't address main controversy, academics say|date=2017-01-13|work=National Post|access-date=2018-09-07|language=en-US}}</ref>
In January 2017, Boyden said he had erroneously identified himself as Mi'kmaq in the past and that he was a "white kid with native roots". He said he had not relied on his identity as an Indigenous person to popularize his books, and had only won one literary prize based on heritage which awarded only a small amount of money. He apologized for taking up too much of the "air space" and stated he would do less public speaking, thus allowing Indigenous voices to be heard in the media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/boyden-admits-to-mistakes-backs-down-as-indigenous-spokesperson/article33593742/|title=Boyden admits to mistakes, backs down as indigenous spokesperson|access-date=20 January 2017|date=11 January 2017|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref name="cbc.ca1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-thursday-january-12-2017-1.3929478/joseph-boyden-addresses-his-heritage-in-exclusive-interview-with-candy-palmater-1.3932161|title=Joseph Boyden addresses his heritage in exclusive interview with Candy Palmater|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> Later that year, Boyden said he had taken a DNA test which listed "Native American DNA"; critics said a DNA test was not proof of Native American identity.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canadalandshow.com/joseph-boyden-indigenous-dna/|title=Joseph Boyden Won't Find Indigenous Identity In A Test Tube Of Spit|date=2017-08-04|work=CANADALAND|access-date=2017-08-12|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="mynameis">{{cite web|url=http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/my-name-is-joseph-boyden/|title=My name is Joseph Boyden|work=Macleans.ca|date=2 August 2017}}</ref>
Subsequent reports by Canadaland and others questioned several inconsistencies in Boyden's recent statements, and failed to corroborate any Native ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadalandshow.com/boyden-interview-reaction/|title=Reaction To Joseph Boyden's New Interviews - CANADALAND|date=13 January 2017|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/joseph-boyden-indigenous-unanswered-questions-1.3932355 |title=Joseph Boyden's first interview 'a start' but it leaves unanswered questions |date=12 January 2017 |first=Tim |last=Fontaine |access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadalandshow.com/things-joseph-boyden-claimed-not/|title=Things Joseph Boyden Has Claimed To Be But Is Not - CANADALAND|date=29 December 2016|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> After his own investigation into Boyden, journalist Eric Andrew Gee said:
{{blockquote|Months of research, travel spanning Ontario, and dozens of interviews with scholars, colleagues, friends and extended family members have not yielded a definitive answer about whether Boyden is "really" Indigenous, and probably never could. In part, that is a challenge peculiar to him. Neither Boyden nor any member of his immediate family would agree to be interviewed for this article. Boyden has taken care to maintain control of his story.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100032374/1100100032378|title = Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada|date = 25 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="themakingof">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/joseph-boyden/article35881215/|title=The making of Joseph Boyden|date=2017-11-12|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2018-09-07|language=en-US}}</ref>}}
When the public discourse about Boyden's heritage impacted the release of his new novel, Ojibway filmmaker Lisa Meeches said she would adopt Boyden as a spiritual sibling, saying she was motivated both by her brother's recent death and by a desire to protect Boyden's work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/he-has-agreed-to-be-my-brother-why-lisa-meeches-is-adopting-joseph-boyden/|title="He has agreed to be my brother" Why Lisa Meeches is adopting Joseph Boyden|first=Shaneen|last=Robinson-Desjarlais|date=January 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/joseph-boyden-adoption-lisa-meeches-1.3935618| title = First Nations filmmaker in Manitoba adopting Joseph Boyden as her brother {{!}} CBC News}}</ref>
==Honours== ===Honorary doctorates and degrees=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Institution !Award !Year Awarded |- |Nipissing University |Honorary Doctor of Letters |2009<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nipissingu.ca/departments/presidents-office/honorary_degree/Pages/default.aspx |title=Honorary Degree Recipients | Nipissing University |access-date=2013-07-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403151450/http://www.nipissingu.ca/departments/presidents-office/honorary_degree/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=2013-04-03 }}</ref> |- |Wilfrid Laurier University |Honorary Doctor of Letters |2012<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wlu.ca/about/governance/senate/honorary-degrees.html |title=Honorary Awards |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thesputnik.ca/over-400-graduates-urged-to-be-individuals/ |title=Over 400 graduates urged to be individuals |publisher=The Sputnik |date=27 August 2012 |first=Allison |last=Leonard |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref> |- |Algoma University |Honorary degree |2013<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.algomau.ca/newsevents/news/name,3712,en.html | title=Algoma's Honorary Degree Recipient is Giller Prize Winning Author | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209174052/http://www.algomau.ca/newsevents/news/name,3712,en.html#.WbTI9rJ97IU | archive-date=2014-02-09}}</ref> |- |Humber College |Honorary degree |2013<ref>{{cite news |url=https://humbernews.ca/2013/10/joseph-boyden-receives-honorary-degree-from-humber/ |title=Joseph Boyden receives honorary degree from Humber |publisher=Humber News |date=31 October 2013 |first=Kateryna |last= Barnes |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref> |- |Trent University |Honorary Doctor of Letters |2014<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trentu.ca/news/story/3385 |title=Trent University Announces Five Honorary Degree Recipients to be Recognized at 2014 Convocation Ceremonies |work=Trent University News |publisher=Trent University |date=11 March 2014 |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref> |}
===Others=== Boyden was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. He was on the board of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
On December 30, 2015, Boyden was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as an author, who tells stories of our common heritage, and for his social engagement, notably in support of First Nations".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=16283&lan=eng|title=The Governor General of Canada|first=The Office of the Secretary to the Governor|last=General|access-date=20 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131181311/https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=16283&lan=eng|archive-date=31 January 2017}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
===Novels=== * ''Three Day Road.'' Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2005. (winner, the inaugural McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award; winner, the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award; winner, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, 2006; included in ''Canada Reads 2006;'' longlisted for the 2007 International Dublin Literary Award; nominated for the 2005 Governor General's Awards) * ''Through Black Spruce.'' Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2008. (winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, November 2008)<ref>{{cite news | title = Joseph Boyden wins $50K Giller Prize Author vows to 'always write about the First Nations' | publisher = CBC News | date = November 11, 2008 | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/joseph-boyden-wins-50k-giller-prize-1.737117 | access-date = 2009-10-05}} </ref><ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081111.wboyden12/BNStory/Entertainment/home "Boyden wins literature's Giller"], ''The Globe and Mail'', November 11, 2008.</ref> *''The Orenda.'' Toronto: Hamish Hamilton, 2013. (longlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted nominee for the 2013 Governor General's Award for English fiction, winner of the 2014 Canada Reads competition) * ''Wenjack.'' Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2016.
===Short stories=== * ''Born With a Tooth'' Toronto: Cormorant Books, 2001.
===Non-fiction=== * ''From Mushkegowuk to New Orleans: A Mixed Blood Highway.'' Edmonton: NeWest, 2008 * ''Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont.'' Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2010 * ''Kwe: Standing With Our Sisters.'' (editor) Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2014. (An anthology with more than fifty contributors to raise awareness of the crisis facing Indigenous women in Canada, with all proceeds going to Amnesty International's No More Stolen Sisters campaign)
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * [http://canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/jboyden/jboyden.php Boyden], item at English-Canadian writers, Athabasca University, by J. McKay; with links added
{{Giller Prize}} {{Amazon.ca First Novel Award}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyden, Joseph}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Willowdale, Toronto Category:University of New Orleans alumni Category:Novelists from Toronto Category:Canadian male novelists Category:Canadian male short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers Category:University of New Orleans faculty Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:Indspire Awards for Arts Category:Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners Category:Canadian people of Greenlandic descent Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent Category:Canadian people who self-identify as being of First Nations descent Category:Canadian people who self-identify as being of Métis descent Category:Race-related controversies in literature Category:Impostors Category:Adult adoptees Category:Canadian adoptees