Family Stories

Wiindaawaso: The Naming Ceremony

4/23/2018

An important part of connecting with Ojibwe heritage

Between the age of a few months and a year, a child is traditionally given their traditional “Ojibwe name”.

In finding an Ojibwe name, a respected elder is chosen to do the naming. The elder will sing and sometimes drum or shake a rattle while seeking a suitable name for the child. When successful the elder states the name, picks up the child, and passes him/her around to all adults present. Each person pronounces the new name while holding the child and wishing them good luck and a happy life.

The new name carries no special significance beyond that of being another name that dedicates them as part of the Anishinaabe nation, and they can use their name whenever they want.

In the past the naming ceremony was an opportunity for a feast, usually after a successful fall or spring hunt. Now, it is a way to reconnect to your indigenous roots and to pass on the traditions of our people.

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A Park Dedicated to Baptiste Charette

4/5/2018

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New park commemorates St. Norbert’s Métis history

The legacy of one of Manitoba’s early Métis families has been recognized with a new park in St. Norbert.

On June 16, a newly minted greenspace on the east side of Pembina Highway at Grandmont Boulevard was named Parc Charette Park after the Charette family. The new park commemorates the homestead the Charette family established at that site in the early 1800s that served as a halfway point between the Red River Settlement and the Morris River (formerly Scratching River) and a resting place for travelers making their way to the settlement.

The original half-log home was built by Baptiste Charette, the family’s patriarch and a carpenter with the North West Company, using glass imported from England and metal hardware brought by ox cart from St. Paul, Minn.

Charette House on Scratching River

The house was considered to be the earliest home built in the Red River Settlement area. The home was condemned following the flood in 1952.

The home was also used as a small store carrying goods from the Hudson Bay Company and at one point was a meeting place for Joseph Charette and a group of Métis who were opposed to Louis Riel’s agenda.

Local historian Philippe Mailhot said the Charette family predated the arrival of the Selkirk Settlers and the naming of the park recognizes St. Norbert’s rich Métis history. "A lot of people don’t realize that there was a significant Métis population in the area before 1812," Mailhot said. "It’s a recognition of the Métis history of the Red River Settlement and St. Norbert in particular and one of the old time Métis families."

Jean Baptiste Charette dressed in his finest hunting attire is a famous sketch maintained by the Glenbow Museum.

In attendance at the park naming were many community members and organizers including Guy Savoie of the Union Nationale Métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba, Robert Roehle of Group Action Saint Norbert, Norm Gousseau from Entreprises Riel, and Corrine Tellier of the Fort Garry Historical Society.

Descendants of the Charette Family were also in attendance to mark the occasion.

The park also features benches, shade trees and a pathway installed by the St. Norbert Business Improvement Zone.

"The tradition of that site was that there was the Charette place, which was a stopping place to grab a bite to eat," Mailhot said. "In my misspent youth, which I grew up about five doors from that site, there were drive-in restaurants... and now with a couple of park benches it’s still a stopping place."

Winnipeg Free Press

From left, Denny Lindemoen (a descendant of the Charette Family), Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert), and Gabriel Forest celebrate the naming of Parc Charette Park.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/souwester/New-park-commemorates-St-Norberts-Metis-history--384731201.html

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Albert Ferris: Ojibwe/Metis Artist

4/2/2018

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Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians

The Metis, Albert Ferris

Albert Lee Ferris was born in 1939 on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in north-central North Dakota. The oldest of 4 sons born to Samuel Ferris and Dora Charette, he spent his formative years living in a multi-cultural family environment, with strong American Indian and Lebanese cultural influences from his family.

The Signal, Albert Ferris

Pen and Ink, Albert Ferris

While growing up, Albert was able to learn history from his elders and to listen to their stories of how life was before people were marginalized and divided by borders and reservation boundaries.

He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of North Dakota prior to entering the US Army during the late 1950s. Following his service in the military, he worked for the Department of Defense at Fort Sam Houston (Texas) where he honed his artistic talents illustrating combat medical training manuals.

After spending much of his career as an artist working in the commercial genre, Albert Lee began to expand into fine arts during the late 1970s and early 1980s. His works were featured at the Southern Plains Indian Art Museum and Crafts Center in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1982. Following a solid showing, he was asked to participate in the Night of First Americans art expo in Washington, DC, by President Ronald Reagan. His works were also shown widely in such venues as the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Kennedy Fine Arts Center, and other shows across the United States. He was successful in painting (acrylic and oil), sculpture, bronze, and multimedia.

An enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Albert enjoyed hunting and fishing in the woods and lakes of the Reservation. Albert Lee died suddenly of illness in 1986 - cutting short what was a rapidly rising artistic star. His works are highly prized among members of the Little Shell Tribe and among others who experienced his realistic quality and style of his work. One of his many benefactors was former U.S. Senator Quentin Burdick.