Jack Fiddler
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Jack Fiddler | |
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Born | 1839 Rupert's Land, British North America |
Died | September 30, 1907 Norway House, Manitoba, Canada | (aged 67–68)
Known for | Being charged with the murder of a supposed wendigo |
Jack Fiddler, also known as Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow (from the
Background
Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow was born in the
Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow grew up during a period of difficulty. Over-trapping for the
By the 1860s, the number of fur-bearing animals increased enough for the HBC to re-open the Island Lake post, and Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow emerged as one of the leaders of the Sucker people. At his brief visits at the posts, he developed the ability to fiddle and built quality instruments. HBC traders frequently gave English nicknames to individual Natives and designated whole clans by the name of a primary leader or an arbitrary English surname. Thus, the Sturgeons were known to traders (and later Canadian authorities) by the surname Rae or Mamakeesick, the Pelicans after their leader Meekis, and the Cranes after their leaders Kakegamic and Kakepetum. Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow and his brother Pesequan became Jack and Joseph Fiddler, and the Suckers often appear in the records as the Fiddler tribe.
Jack Fiddler took five wives: Kakakwesic, Nakwasasive, Nocome, Kaopasanakitiyat, and Kayakatopicicikec and had 13 children. Polygamy was common, out of necessity if for no other reason, as young men died often in the dangers of the times.
The wendigo
Like his father before him, Jack Fiddler became a famous
HBC traders,
Arrest and trial
In early 1907, two members of the North-West Mounted Police visiting Island Lake heard of Jack Fiddler's power against the wendigo from Norman Rae, an in-law of the Fiddlers. Seeking to introduce Canadian law in the North, the Mounties went to the Sucker camp at Deer Lake and arrested Jack and Joseph Fiddler for murder. Before leaving, they took an eyewitness and declared that each man must give up any extra wives. For most of the Sucker people, the Mounties were the first whites they had ever seen.
The elderly brothers were charged with murdering Wahsakapeequay, Joseph's daughter-in-law, the year before. They were held at
On September 30, Jack Fiddler escaped captivity during a walk outside. He hanged himself nearby and was found dead later in the day.
Joseph Fiddler still went to trial, however. Angus Rae, the eyewitness, testified that Wahsakapeequay was killed while in deep pain and incurably sick according to the custom of the people who were not aware of Canadian law. Pressed on the wendigo issue, Rae admitted that it was a belief among his people and that Jack and Joseph were the ones who were usually asked to euthanize the very sick and prevent wendigos. Despite some other unreliable testimony from Rae, and the pleas of missionaries and HBC traders, Joseph was convicted and sentenced to death by
Aftermath
Without their most prominent leaders, the people of the upper Severn River had no choice but to accept government rule. Robert Fiddler, Jack's son, signed an addition to Treaty 5 as "chief of the Deer Lake Band" in 1910 and chose to settle at Deer Lake. Later, several families including the Fiddlers, moved to Sandy Lake and became part of Treaty 9.
Today, most of the descendants of Jack Fiddler live in the Sandy Lake First Nation with others at the Deer Lake First Nation, and North Spirit Lake First Nation in Ontario, and the three reserves at Island Lake in Manitoba.
References
- ^ John Marlowe 'The Flesh-Hungry Wendigo' in 'Canadian Mysteries of the Unexplained' (London: Arcturus 2009)
Books
- Fiddler, Thomas and James R. Stevens, Killing the Shamen (Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press, 1985)
- Stevens, James R. (1994). "Zhauwuno Geezhigo Gaubow (aka Jack Fiddler)". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.