Sounding Thunder: The Stories of Francis Pegahmagabow

Francis Pegahmagabow (1889-1952), an Ojibwe of the Caribou clan, wasborn in Shawanaga First Nation, Ontario. Enlisting at the onset of the FirstWorld War, he served overseas as a scout and sniper and became Canada'smost decorated Indigenous soldier. After the war, Pegahmagabow settledin Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario, where he married and raised sixchildren. He served his community as both Chief and Councillor and was afounding member of the Brotherhood of Canadian Indians, the first nationalIndigenous political organization. In 1949 and 1950, he was elected theSupreme Chief of the National Indian Government.Francis Pegahmagabow’s stories describe many parts of his life and arecharacterized by classic Ojibwe narrative. They reveal aspects of Francis’s Anishinaabe life and worldview. Interceding chapters by Brian McInnesprovide valuable cultural, spiritual, linguistic, and historic insights that givea greater context and application for Francis’s words and world. Presentedin their original Ojibwe as well as in English translation, the stories alsoreveal a rich and evocative relationship to the lands and waters of GeorgianBay. In Sounding Thunder, Brian McInnes provides new perspective onPegahmagabow and his experience through a unique synthesis of Ojibweoral history, historical record, and Pegahmagabow family stories.