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WILLIAM MONAGUE NATIVE ART
- INSPIRED BY MOTHER EARTH & THE BEAUTY OF NATURE -

"Blue Moon" Remembering a Loved one

Early Works

William Anthony Monague

   WILLIAM ANTHONY MONAGUE  
"Abwaudung" (The Visionary or Dreamer)
 1956 - 2019

William Monague - Ojibwe Artist

Self taught Beausoleil First Nation artist, William Anthony Monague grew up with the People of Chimnissing on an isolated island with no access to formal education or training in the arts. He discovered inspiration in the traditional teachings of Mother Earth, Spirit World and in the beauty of nature and in the Georgian Bay shores that surrounded him. His journey began in the 70's traveling the Pow Wow trail and along the way, paintings, carvings, quill work, crafts and jewelry were acquired by curators from The Washington Museum of Fine Art, Turtle Art Gallery in New York, Royal Ontario Museum among others. 

During the 1980's William was awarded Most Unique Native Artist at Alberta and British Columbia Art & Craft Shows. In 1982 he traveled with his family selling from the '79 GMC Vandura.  Demand for his art and craftsmanship was essential in the early establishment of Monague Native Crafts Inc. now a leading wholesale supplier of souvenirs and gift items in Canada. Until his passing in 2019 he remained dedicated to his art and profession. Gifted with a kind and gentle heart he always gave to worthwhile causes.  The artist's humble nature was recognized in 2012 when his Beausoleil First Nation Community proudly honored him with the Seven Grandfathers Award for Humility.

In 1999 the Canada Council for the Arts fostered a vision William had for a story "Snowy and the Otter".  While sitting in their summer garden William shared with his wife Brenda a vision.  An Inuit girl Snowy discovered on the shores of Georgian Bay by a young Ojibway boy.  An enduring adventure follows. They meet heartwarming characters from Chimnissing while gaining knowledge amid legends and sharing their language and culture along the way. William wanted to ensure authenticity of the book and asked his wife to help research Inuit culture.  Communities in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit  were visited and researched with plans to move to Christian Island upon her retirement and conclude the project. Brenda is moving forward with William's vision of "Snowy and the Otter" dedicating the story to him.

William has received many awards and recognition throughout his career including a Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2021 The Culture Alliance in the Heart of Georgian Bay announced William Anthony Monague as an honouree in the Inspirational Peoples Banner Project. His image to be printed on a large banner located on Chimnissing also known as Christian Island and deservedly placed within the beauty of nature and the Georgian Bay shores that inspired him.t Ojibwe artist who travelled the Pow Wow trail in the 1970’s and 1980’s to sell his native art. His art work is currently in the collections of The Washington Museum of Fine Art, Turtle Art Gallery in New York, The Royal Ontario Museum and Whetung’s Art Gallery, among others.   William had travelled extensively selling arts and crafts while subsisting with his family in his 1979 GMC Vandura. This was essential in the early establishment of Monague Native Crafts Ltd. The family operated business he assisted in establishing has become on of Canada’s leading global producers and suppliers of native products. During his career William received many awards and recognition. Some of these were being honoured by the Anishinabek Nation with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, and a Seven Grandfathers Award for Humility in 2012 from Beausoleil First Nation. William had inspired many people from Beausoleil First Nation and around the world with his beautiful artwork. His legacy will be remembered by all those that knew him and aspired to be like him.

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Sharing Anishinabek Culture Through The "Spirit of Color"