Aug 27, 2021
Bernard Assiniwi, born in Montréal in 1935, is of Cree origin. Researcher, curator, filmmaker; no work project was able to stop him.
His first published work, Anish-Nah-Bé: contes adultes du pays algonkin, presents the importance of Indigenous tales and legends to the non-indigenous world. Like his career, his writing style was also diversified, ranging from non-fiction with L’Odawa Pontiac : l’amour et la guerre, novels with The Beothuk Saga, to information guides like Lexique des noms indiens du Canada : les noms géographiques and to children’s literature like Nionatta.
Even though he died in 2000, he is still one of the most prolific writers of Indigenous literature in Quebec.
Fun fact: Did you know that Amherst St in Gatineau was almost renamed Bernard-Assiniwi St in his honor?
