Grandson of famous medicine man shared rich history of his people's traditions

BY MAUREEN MATTHEWS

On the afternoon of January 7th, the community of Pauingassi turned out en masse for the funeral of one of it's oldest and most respected residents. Charlie George Owen, who passed away Dec. 30th, lived in Pauingassi most of his life. Like many northern elders, Omishoosh experienced medical problems- which meant that he spent several of his last years at Central Park Lodge in Winnipeg. His return to the community and his family for more than two months last fall made him incredibly happy.

For most of his 90 some years, Charlie George, lived in Pauingassi or trapped nearby. Like his grandfather before him, he felt that Pauingassi had everything he needed for a full life. His grandfather, Naamiwan, played a very large role in his education. Where the village of Pauingassi now stands, a group of four ceremonial buildings stood, and it was on the flat sandy hilltop in Pauignassi that Naamiwan conducted the ceremonies central to the health and happiness of those for whom he was responsible. His grandfather's fame as a medical healer was such that people came from hundreds of miles away to be cured of serious illnesses. One of the stories Charlie George told often was of how his grandfather, through the use of a rattle and a drum, fetched Charlie George back from death and gave him life again.

Charlie George was the second of two boys born to Naamiwan's son, Wanachense and his wife, Pikochiish. Sadly, his mother died when he was, as he put it, "still wrapped up"-a tiny baby. He was raised by his aunt, his mother's sister, Mishkwa'o and his uncle Angus, Naamiwan's eldest and most gifted son, as they had no children of their own. Charlie George became one of the apprentices to his grandfather and uncle and eventually played an important role in ceremonies. After the death of his father and his uncle, Charlie George inherited Naamiwan's famous dream dance drum. Many community members remember him playing the drum, Giibaabaanaan, at community events until the early 1970s when it was destroyed in a house fire.

The world into which Charlie George was born began to change rapidly in the early 1950's. In those years, the abuse of alcohol began to create difficulties in the community and it also became apparent to the elders that their children needed an education. In 1955, Charlie George's father-Wanachense-invited Mennonite missionary and teacher Henry Neufeld and his family to come to Pauingassi. Several years later, Charlie George's first wife Eva, with whom he had six children, passed away. His second wife Janet had another 14 and their small house filled up with children.

In March of 1976, his teenage son committed suicide, and Charlie George felt personally responsible. He felt he was to blame because he had been setting a bad example in his life, drinking to excess and not demonstrating the discipline he had been taught as a young man. He never drank again. In 1978, he was baptized by Mennonite lay preacher and cousin St. John Owen; he always praised the strength he found in Christianity. At this time he began a long association with the Pauingassi school, as a school board member and as a teacher, telling stories and instructing the young students about Ojibwe life and Pauingassi history.

I first met him in 1992, when I began to make an IDEAS program about his famous grandfather Naamiwan, "Fair Wind's Drum". Naamiwan had spoken at length to the American Anthropologist A. Irving Hallowell about Ojibwe religious practices and Naamiwan came to call Hallowell "Midewigima" because of his interest in and knowledge of the Midewiwin. Charlie George remembered Midewigima very well, and when we met him, he started in where his grandfather left off, explaining again the importance of the ceremonies and the underlying values of Ojibwe religious practice. He has left behind an invaluable collection of tapes which he directed us to put into a book honouring the memory of Naamiwan. It will of course honour the memory of Charlie George too, because in his eloquent Ojibwe conversation, he epitomized Ojibwe life.