The Star: Joseph Boyden story’s originality called into question
Controversy continues to follow Canadian author Joseph Boyden. Accusations of similarities between one of his texts and a story by an Ojibway storyteller have now surfaced, barely a month after the authenticity of his indigenous identity came under question.
An article by Jorge Barrera published online by APTN focuses on similarities found in a small book by healer and storyteller Ron Geyshick called Te Bwe Win and a story titled “Bearwalker” that appeared in Boyden’s 2001 short-story collection Born With a Tooth. Boyden denies he copied the story.
The similarities were brought to light by Chuck Bourgeois, a graduate student at the University of Manitoba, who is quoted in the APTN piece. In a draft paper available on the University of Manitoba website, Bourgeois outlines the similar passages, and notes that the story by Geyshick contained details that made his story “unique.”