I am changing. Like the butterfly, I am going through a metamorphosis. It is a metaphysical dilution of my being. I have been decolonizing my personal space.
I am going to change my name from the one that is recorded in the Indian Act registrar.
When I was born into this world, l was given three English names: Brandon Jeffrey Monague. My first and middle names were chosen by my mother and father. They were chosen from a book provided to them by an agent of the government: the Indian Agent. He had told them, “English names only. Absolutely no Indian names!” Imagine that, an Indian Agent forbidding Indian names!
I was born into a world of such discord that everything in place still seemed out of place.
My surname was an anglicized version of Minonaakwhe (Mih-no- nawk-wheh), meaning “he shoots well.” It was the name of a man of whom I am a descendant. Although, if the Anishinaabe World had progressed without interference from the larger society, no one would have carried that name forward.
Minonaakwhe had just the one name. It was a name that had been bestowed upon him by an elder of his who had observed him for at least two years until such time as they had dreamt that name.
It is also possible that Minonaakwhe also earned that name at a later stage in his life. But maybe he was born a sure shot. Either way his name would not ever be patrilineal and carried on by his sons and grandsons. It was not our way.
As a seven-year-old, I received a Anishinaabe name. It was bestowed upon me by an elder who had been asked by my parents to name me. He had observed me for a couple of years until he dreamt my name. That was when I became Myiingan (My-een-gun), meaning Wolf.
In the world that I live in, my Anishinaabe name was without regard. It was nice to have, but I could never use it in any official capacity because the larger society demanded, via the Indian Act, that I could only use my three English names.
Now, through reconciliation, I am finally allowed my Anishinaabe name. And so I will make that change. I will make that change because I want to undo some of the damage that was done to us as a people.
I will make that change to restore who we traditionally were within my family. I will make that change to honour Minonaakwhe.
Therefore, I will begin the process of applying for a change of name through the Ontario government. I will document this journey here, in this space, as I make my application.
I will petition to become Myiingan Minonaakwhe, which translates as Wolf Shoots Well. My Indian Act name will be no more as I decolonize my personal space and begin to remove 300 years of discord in order to that I may one day move to reconcile.
A change is upon us. A metamorphosis.
Jeff Monague is a former Chief of the Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island, former Treaty Research Director with the Anishnabek (Union of Ontario Indians), and veteran of the Canadian Forces. Monague, who taught the Ojibwe language with the Simcoe County District School Board and Georgian College, is currently the Superintendent of Springwater Provincial Park. His column appears every other Monday.
