Warrior, veteran, leader and tireless advocate with a quick wit and sense of humour
by Tom Sasvari
SHESHEGWANING—Whether you talk to colleagues, friends or family, everyone agrees that with the passing of Joseph Clarence Endanawas, the world has lost a great man. His passing leaves a void that will be felt by anyone who knew him.
“Joe was a long-time friend and colleague,” said Patrick Madahbee, commissioner of governance for the Anishinabek Nation. “He was a real warrior, having been a veteran in the military.”
Mr. Endanawas was one of about 12 area Anishinabek Nation veterans who attended the Vimy Ridge celebration in France, Mr. Madahbee said. “As much as it was a great ceremony with a lot of pageantry, the highlight for me was when Joe found out his grandfather was buried over there. He was a veteran of Vimy Ridge, a casualty of World War II. Joe asked if we could take a little detour prior to the celebration. It was a little off the way and the driver missed the exit, but we asked him to turn around. It became a real highlight for me and some of the others, even more than the Vimy Ridge celebration.”
Mr. Endanawas was able to find his grandfather’s grave, across the road from a German cemetery, said Mr. Madahbee. “The cemetery and the grave sites were meticulous, in good shape. We held a pipe ceremony with the four directions and left sacred medicine bundles at the grave site. It was so moving for all of us. It was so good to see Joe able to see his grandfather.”
Mr. Madahbee remembered Mr. Endanawas as a strong advocate for First Nations who worked to maintain their language and culture. “He was always at powwows or events focusing on Anishinabek culture,” he said. “He was always there.”
One time Mr. Endanawas had the opportunity to make a speech in Peru. He called Mr. Madahbee and told him, ‘I am not one to make speeches? What should I do?’ “I told him ‘if you can’t baffle them with your brilliance, dazzle them with b.s.’ He and I would always get a chuckle about this when we would meet up.”
Mr. Endanawas was very active in the 1990 Manitoulin Island Land Claim discussions and was the voting coordinator for the Anishinabek Nation on the governance agreement, Mr. Madahbee added. He worked with a team to help communities prepare, work that included all necessary due diligence up to the appeals stage. They worked on appeals as well.
“He had a very subtle and quiet sense of humour,” said Mr. Madahbee. “He is going to be missed for sure.”
“It was a big shock when I heard that Joe had died,” said Glen Hare, Ontario Regional Chief. “He died at home (in Sudbury), having moved back there before Christmas, with Maryann (his wife) having gotten a job at the university.”
“Losing Joe leaves a big void within the Anishinabek Nation,” Ontario Regional Chief Hare added. “We did a lot with the UCCMM (United Chiefs and Council of Mnidoo Mnising) as colleagues. He was the one who spearheaded the sentencing circle justice program with the UCCMM. When I was deputy chief of the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI), Joe was pushing for the governance agreement. He was one of the identified leaders for governance and education.”
“Joe was a veteran and was really proud of that,” said Ontario Regional Chief Hare.
“I know a guy in Sagamok who always told me that when Joe was going by, he would stop and come in to visit him,” Ontario Regional Chief Hare added. “When I saw him the other day, he told me that Joe hadn’t stopped by this time. When I told him Joe was gone, he was speechless. He didn’t believe me. There will be a lot of people shocked when everyone hears about Joe passing on.”
“He’s going to be missed. He was such an easygoing guy. I don’t know if I ever saw him upset,” said Ontario Regional Chief Hare. “It makes a big difference when you are talking about a leader like that. Joe gave a lot of his time to help other people.”
Mr. Endanawas passed away at his home in Sudbury on March 25, at the age of 78. He leaves behind his beloved wife Maryann, along with two sons, Christopher and Joshua, and a daughter Jackie (Shane). He also leaves behind three grandchildren, Riley (Amanda), Christina, and Katrina (Dakota), and two great-grandchildren, Anubus and Lucas. Mr. Endanawas is pre-deceased by his parents, Adam and Clara Endanawas, siblings Jonas, Helen, Evelyn, Lylene, David, and Frances, and will be greatly missed by his remaining sisters Mary (Jim), Christine (Barry), and Cecilia (Harold), pre-deceased).
He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and friends, including his favourite nephew Francis (Keri), with whom he spent a lot of time and watched many Toronto Maple Leafs games. He also leaves behind his best loved service dog “Bungii.”
Mr. Endanawas loved the outdoors and would always help his dad as he was growing up. He had a varied career that ranged from forestry to manufacturing to serving in the United States Army. He thoroughly enjoyed working for Indigenous governmental agencies like United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnissing (UCCMM), Sheshegwaning First Nation, and Anishinabek Nation, and was a respected elder, and language and knowledge keeper. His presence at functions and powwows will be greatly missed.
Joseph Endanawas was born and raised on the Sheshegwaning First Nation. He was in the US Army from 1968 to 1970 and was in the Reserves until 1974. When he and his family returned to Sheshegwaning in the mid-1970s, he became band administrator and was elected as a councillor several times from the 1960s through the 1990s. He was chief of Sheshegwaning for a total of 10 years, over two terms from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2009 to 2015.
Mr. Endanawas worked at UCCMM as fish and wildlife coordinator during the time of Operation Rainbow. His main role was to educate First Nations people and the general public about aboriginal and Treaty Rights in the areas of hunting and fishing and access to First Nations’ traditional territories.
From 2002 to 2009, Mr. Endanawas worked with UCCMM in the Alternative Justice Program as the community justice worker. In this program, clients from the court system are dealt with through traditional healing circles instead of possibly going to jail. He was proud to say there were many successes in that program.
He worked with the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) as ratification vote manager for the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement vote. He also acted as vote manager in 2016 for the education agreement.
Morley Runnalls of Evansville was another long-time friend of Mr. Endanawas. “I went to high school with him,” said Mr. Runnalls. “He was a hell of a good guy. He was an excellent fellow.”
“We bought his trailer to live out at Obejewung Park when we first began operating it,” Mr. Runnalls added. “He was a great friend, a great fellow. He was Chief of Sheshegwaning (First Nation) when he stayed at the park for the summer.”
“Joe was a great, honest fellow,” continued Mr. Runnalls. “He would talk to you any time and make sense. He was an ordinary fellow that got along with everyone.”
When he told Evelyn Cardiff that Mr. Endanawas had passed, she told Mr. Runnalls that she knew Mr. Endanawas as a great fellow. “Our opinions are very similar,” he said.
Mr. Endanawas had a ‘great and positive influence’ on his nephew, Francis Endanawas. “Joe was definitely an influence on me for sure: going into the military and seeing his work in a service aspect, and the books and photographs of his being in the military when I was growing up, and helping the community.”
“My mother Christine was Joe’s sister,” said Francis Endanawas, who has served the community as a member of the Ontario Provincial Police in Sudbury for the past 33 years. He will be retiring in May. “Joe was always supporting what I was doing and would come to all my graduations, including from the police academy,” said Francis. “He is definitely going to be missed.
Francis provided the English translation of the eulogy at Mr. Endanawas’ funeral on March 30.
“He was a great man, a family man, and a patriarch of the Endanawas family. He was supportive of all of us,” said Francis. “He was my last uncle, and he is going to be missed.”
