Basil H. Johnston

Basil Johnston
Born (1929-07-13)July 13, 1929
Parry Island Indian Reserve
Died September 8, 2015(2015-09-08) (aged 86)
Wiarton, Ontario
Notable awards Order of Ontario

Basil H. Johnston OOnt (13 July 1929 – 8 September 2015) was a Canadian writer, storyteller, language teacher and scholar.

Personal life

Johnston was born July 13, 1929 on the Parry Island Indian Reserve to Rufus and Mary (née Lafrenière) Johnston.[1] He was a member of the Cape Croker First Nation (Neyaashiinigmiing).

Johnston was educated in reserve schools in Cape Croker and in Spanish, Ontario; an account of his school years can be read in his biography Indian School Day (1988). He earned his B.A. with Honors from Loyola College in 1954. He taught high school at Earl Haig Secondary School in North York, Ontario, from 1962 to 1969, before taking a position in the Ethnology Department of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.[2] Part of Johnston's focus during his 25 years with the museum was the language and mythology of Anishinaabe heritage.[3]

While publishers recognized the authenticity of Johnston's writing, they questioned whether there was a market for it. His first book Ojibway Heritage was published in 1976 thanks to the support of Jack McClelland and Anna Porter of McClelland & Stewart. In 1978 Porter proved equally instrumental, fighting for the publication of Johnston's second book, Moose Meat and Wild Rice, after a McClelland & Stewart editor suggested the publisher pass on the title, in part, because stories of its kind were "currently passé."[4]

Johnston married Lucie Desroches in 1959, with whom he had three children - Miriam, Tibby and Geoffery.[4]

Johnston was a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. He died in 2015 at Wiarton, Ontario.[5]

Awards

For his work in preserving Ojibwa language and culture, he received the Order of Ontario in 1989 and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Toronto and Laurentian University. Basil has also received the Aboriginal Achievement Award for Heritage and Spirituality.[5][6]

Bibliography

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Stoffman, Judy (26 September 2015). "Writer Basil Johnston paved way for First Nations literature". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Fitzgerald, Judith (16 July 1983). "Johnston avoids Indian stereotypes: An Ojibway writes about his own". Toronto: The Globe & Mail. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Anishinabek remember storyteller Basil Johnston". Anishinabek News. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 Meilie, Dianne (2015). "Basil Johnston Editor wrote 'Indians are passe' on author's manuscript". Windspeaker 33 (7): 26. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Langlois, Denis (10 September 2015). "Esteemed Anishinaabe author Basil Johnston dies". wiartonecho.com. Wiarton Echo. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Nineteen honored With Order of Ontario". Toronto: The Globe & Mail. 19 April 1989. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Review of Crazy Dave in Rambles, a cultural arts magazine

External links

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