Anishnabe change makers - Essay Example

Anishinaabe change makers Anishinaabe is the autonym used by the Algonquin first nations, Ojibwa and Odawa in Ontario. The original definition of the word Anishinaabe is ani (whence), nishina (lowered), abe (male of the species) thus "People from whence lowered." From a traditionalists point of view, the Anishinaabe can refer to "the good people" or the good humans that mean those people who are on the right path that the creator or Gichi-Manidoo gave to them. Basil Johnston (the Ojibwa linguist) explains the Anishinaabe from a creationist point of view as "human-made from nothing" since they are beings created by divine breath and made up of blood, flesh, and a soul instead of fire, wind, water, or rock.

The Anishinaabe people all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin languages of the Algonquian language family. One of the Anishinaabe change makers was George Manuel, born back in February 21st 1921 to Maria and Rainbow on the Secwepemc side of Shuswap people. Her mother, Maria later married Louie Manuel, and hence George inherited his second name. He started school at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. During this time he was, diagnosed with tuberculosis and later transferred to Indian TB hospital near Chilliwack, British Columbia.

During his spell there, George met Marceline Paul; a Kootenai woman from St. Marys Indian Band and made her his first wife. They both married and together, had six children. He gained strength from his family, which added to his leadership quality. George started developing the urge of taking responsibility as a political leader which began to be a developing strain on his life in marriage. First elected as the chief of Neskon Indian Band and during the year 1959 and after the death of his mentor Andy Paul, he took the responsibility as the head of North American Indian Brotherhood.

After he had broken up with Marceline, the federal Department of Indian Affairs offered him a position with the Cowichan Tribes at Duncan where he worked as a community development officer. As a change maker, George felt the need to have a vision for his life and his people in general. He opted to work for his community for the aboriginal people and the indigenous people of the world as well. He recognized that for aboriginal societies to effect change, the members of the community had to work together as one in order to achieve this goal.

George moved from his position and advanced to a role with the Alberta brotherhood where he developed a strong and firm working relationship with the Cree political leader Harold Cardinal. He collaborated extensively with the chiefs across Canada during his time with Alberta Brotherhood. Later on Cardinal approached him to run the position of nation chief of the Nation Indian Brotherhood representing approximately 250,000 Indians. He would serve as the nation chief from the year 1970 to 1976.

Adding to his experience, he found the World Council of Indigenous peoples in which he was the president in 1975 and retained this position until 1981. During this time, he travelled to Peru, Argentina, Sweden, Guatemala, and Chile to meet the indigenous people together with their leaders. One of Georges most important legacies was teaching people; "We hold the power to shape the future of our people." It was through this knowledge that resulted to a successful political career. He realized that Aboriginal people had much in common with indigenous nations-elements and was a key subject of bringing the universal declaration of the indigenous people.

Conclusion George Manuel was quite an influential political leader of all people. Uniting people from different regions and leading by example takes only a few people. Through his leadership, the Indian people are entitled to claim victory for they have survived. Its impossible for one to capture it in a brief summary the value of all what he did for he was a born leader. As a leader, his actions, vision, and legacy shall remain in the aboriginal world of all time. Work Cited Gross, Lawrence W.

"The Comic Vision of Anishinaabe Culture and Religion." American Indian Quarterly 22 June 2002. Print.