Bernard Assiniwi

Bernard Assiniwi (pseudonym: "Chagnan" born July 31, 1935, in Montreal; died September 4, 2000) was a Québécois writer and broadcaster of purely French-Canadian extraction who claimed to be Indigenous. In addition to that he was a researcher in Aboriginal History, a producer, and an actor. One of his best known works is La Saga des Béothuks or The Beothuk Saga in the English translation by Wayne Grady.

Biography He was born Bernard Lapierre on July 31, 1935, in Montreal, the son of Joseph-Leonidas Zephirin Lapierre, born in the parish of Sault-au-Recollet (north of Montreal), and Eglantine Bleau, born in Montreal, both of Quebecois heritage. As a child French was the language of his schooling and he claimed to have learned cree. In an interview with the French newspaper Libération in 1999, he claimed his father grew up on the Lac Tapawnee reserve (Lac Tipani is jn the Laurentians) but no such reserve exists.

As a teenager, Bernard Lapierre began identifying as Mohawk and then "Algo-Cri", but his ancestry was French-Canadian. He made a legal name change from Lapierre to Assiniwi in 1971.

He graduated from the University of Guelph, obtaining a BScA in animal science.

He went on to follow a variety of careers. He was involved with the beginning of the cultural section of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 1965 to 1968. In 1965, he also appeared in the film La vie heureuse de Léopold Z. Other film appearances were Les smattes (1972) and Les forges de Saint-Maurice (1973). He also served as curator of the Easter Subarctic Cultural area of the Canadian Museum of Civilization until his death in 2000. theater and film.

Assiniwi married Marina Assiniwi and they had three sons : Marc-André Assiniwi, Christian Assiniwi, and Jean-Yves Assiniwi.

Assiniwi died on 4 September 2000, at age 65, from a heart attack following heart surgery.

In 2001, Land Insights created the prix Dr. Bernard-Chagnan-Assiniwi, awarded for the first time in 2001 to Indigenous artists or creators whose work had contributes to their original culture.

Awards He won the Jean-Hamelin literature prize for French and Quebecois authors in 1997. He was also shortlisted for the Governor General prize of Canada in the same year. Assiniwi's Pre-Recruit Training Camp (1993) was awarded a Bronze Plaque (best screenplay) at the 41st Columbus Film Festival.

Published works

Year Title Publisher 1972 Recettes Typiques des Indiens (Standard Indian Recipes) Éditions Leméac 1972 Survie en Forêt (Survival in the Bush) Éditions Leméac 1972 Survival in the Bush (Eng. tr. of Survie en Forêt) Copp-Clark 1971 Anish-Nah-Be: Contes Adultes du Pays Algonkin (Anishnabe: Adult Tales of the Algonquians) Éditions Leméac 1972 Indian Recipes 1972 A l'Indienne (To the Indian Woman) Éditions Leméac 1973 L'Histoire des Indiens de Haut et Bas Canada (The History of the Indians of Upper and Lower Canada (3 Volumes) Éditions Leméac 1973 Lexique Des Noms Indiens En Amerique: Tome 1 Noms Geographiques (Lexicon of Indian Names in America: Volume 1, Geographic Names) Éditions Leméac 1973 Lexique Des Noms Indiens En Amerique: Tome 2 ? (Lexicon of Indian Names in America: Volume 2?) Éditions Leméac 1973 Makwa, Le Petit Algonquin (Makwa, the Little Algonquian) (children's book) Éditions Leméac 1979 Les Cris des Marais (The Cries of the Marais) Éditions Leméac 1979 Les Montagnais et les Naskapi (The Montagnais and Naskapi Indians) Éditions Leméac 1979 Le Guerrier aux Pieds Agiles (The Fleet-footed Warrior) Éditions Leméac 1983 Il n'y a Plus d'Indiens (There Are No More Indians) Éditions Leméac 1985 Contes Adultes des Territoires Algonkins (Adult Tales of the Algonquian Territories, re-release of 1971 edition Anish-Nah-Be) Éditions Leméac1993Pre-Recruit Training Camp (screenplay) 1987, 1994 Faites Votre Vin Vous-même (Make Your Own Wine) Éditions Leméac, Bibliothèque Québécoise 1994 Odawa Pontiac (Ottawa Pontiac) Éditions XYZ 1996 Lexique des Noms Indiens de Canada: Les Noms Géographiques (Lexicon of Canadian Indian Names (2 Volumes): Volume 1, Geographic Names) Éditions Leméac 1997 La Saga des Béothuks Éditions Leméac 1998 Ikwé, la Femme Algonquienne (Ikwé, Algonquian Woman) Vents d'Ouest 1998 Windigo et la Naissance du Monde (Windigo and the birth of the world) Vents d'Ouest 2000 The Beothuk Saga (Eng. tr. of La Saga des Béothuks by Wayne Grady) McClelland & Stewart 2008 Le Bras Coupé (The Cut Arm) Bibliothèque Québécoise