Richard Wagamese facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Wagamese
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Wagamese at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2013
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| Native name |
Mushkotay Beezheekee Anakwat (Buffalo Cloud)
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| Born | October 14, 1955 Minaki, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 10, 2017 (aged 61) Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | novelist, poet, television writer |
| Language | Ojibway; English |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Genre | First Nations literature |
| Notable works | Indian Horse |
| Notable awards | Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature (2013) |
Richard Wagamese (October 14, 1955 – March 10, 2017) was an Ojibwe Canadian author and journalist. He came from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario.
He is best known for his novel Indian Horse (2012). This book won the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature in 2013. It was also a popular book in the 2013 Canada Reads competition.
Indian Horse was later made into a movie in 2017. The film was directed by Stephen Campanelli. It was released after Richard Wagamese passed away.
Contents
Richard Wagamese's Early Life
In one of his essays, "The Path to Healing," Wagamese shared details about his first home. He said it was a tent made from a spruce tree branch. His family lived by fishing, hunting, and trapping.
When he was only two years old, he and his three brothers and sisters were left alone. This happened during a trip in Kenora. The children left their camp when they ran out of food and firewood. They found shelter at a train station, where a policeman found them.
Wagamese later explained that the adults in his family had been hurt. They had been forced to attend residential schools. These schools tried to make Indigenous children forget their culture. His parents, Marjorie Wagamese and Stanley Raven, were among these children.
After being found, Richard was taken by the Children's Aid Society. He was then placed in foster homes in northwestern Ontario. At age nine, a Presbyterian family in St. Catharines adopted him. This family did not let him stay connected to his First Nations background.
Connecting with His Heritage
Richard Wagamese did not meet his birth family again until he was 23. He told them about his experiences growing up. An elder then gave him a special name: Mushkotay Beezheekee Anakwat. This means Buffalo Cloud. The elder told him that his purpose was to tell stories.
Later in his life, Wagamese lived near Kamloops, British Columbia. In 2010, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops gave him an honorary doctorate. This is a special award from a university.
He had two sons, Jason and Joshua. On March 10, 2017, Wagamese died at his home. This was just two days after one of his books, Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations, was nominated for an award. The movie based on his famous novel, Indian Horse, came out later that year.
Richard Wagamese's Career as a Writer
In 1979, Wagamese started his first writing job. He worked for New Breed, a publication for First Nations people. Later, he became a journalist for the Calgary Herald. He was encouraged by writers like Lorna Crozier.
As a journalist, Wagamese spent a lot of time interviewing people. Many of them were survivors of the residential school system. He won a National Newspaper Award for his writing in 1991. He also won the Native American Press Association Award twice. His newspaper articles can be found in his book The Terrible Summer.
Wagamese stopped working full-time in journalism in 1993. However, he continued to write for other publications. These included The Globe and Mail.
His first novel, Keeper 'n Me, was published in 1994. This book won the Georges Bugnet Award for Novel in 1995. He shared the award with Roberta Rees.
Richard Wagamese wrote many books. He published five other novels, a book of poetry, and two children's books. He also wrote five non-fiction books, including two about his own life. He even wrote for the television show North of 60.
He was known for his amazing live readings. He would share parts of his books, tell traditional stories, and even do comedy. Wagamese is seen as one of Canada's most important Indigenous authors.
Awards and Recognition
In 2012, Richard Wagamese received an Indspire Award. This award recognized his work in media and communications. In the same year, he was a guest lecturer at the University of Victoria.
In 2013, he won the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize. He also won the first-ever Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature for Indian Horse. Other awards he received include the Kouhi Award for his contributions to literature. In 2015, he won the Writers' Trust of Canada's Matt Cohen Award for all his writing.
In 2013, Super Channel announced they would fund a movie version of Indian Horse. Stephen Campanelli directed it, and Dennis Foon wrote the script. Even Clint Eastwood helped produce the film. The movie Indian Horse was shown at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
His last novel, Starlight, was published after he passed away in 2018. A collection of his stories and non-fiction writings, One Drum, was published in 2019.
In 2022, it was announced that another of Wagamese's novels, Ragged Company (2009), would also be made into a film.
See also
In Spanish: Richard Wagamese para niños
