Francis Assikinack (18241863) was a 19th-century

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

historian. Assikinack was born on

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

. He was raised learning only

and did not learn English until after enrolling at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

in 1840. His father

Jean-Baptiste Assiginack Jean-Baptiste Assiginack (1768 - 3 November 1866) was an Odawa leader in the early 19th-century. He was also known as "Blackbird," a literal translation of his name in the Anishinaabe language. Early Life and War of 1812 Assiginack is thought ...

was a prominent leader of the Ojibwe. Assikinack had tried to get approval to study medicine but the government did not support him in this course. Assikinack worked for the Canadian Indian department. For a time he taught school at

Wikwemikong The Wiikwemkoong First Nation is a First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. The Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory (nicknamed Wiky, previously named Wikwemikong) is the First Nation reserve in the northeast of Manitoulin Island in Manit ...

. He wrote three essays on the customs and culture of the Ojibwe.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Assikinack, Francis 1824 births 1863 deaths Ojibwe people 19th-century Native Americans