The Frank Victor Hugo Memorial Award has been given out to a Nishnaabemowin Language Instructors' Institute student since 1998. Hugo was a pioneer in langauge preservation.
A hunter, a warrior, and a fluent speaker of the Ojibwe language, Frank Hugo was a 20th Century Ojibwe man who reconciled his traditional lifestyle with modern living.
Frank was born in 1909 to Frank and Charlotte (Friday) Hugo. His great grandmother was Betsy Bird, who was born in the early 1800s and died at the age of 106 in the 1920s.
While attending the old mission school in Bay Mills, Frank was spanked for speaking his Native language. He was sent to the Mt. Pleasant Indian School where he was not allowed to speak Ojibwa at all. He stayed through the eighth grade, completing his schooling.
He was not bitter about his experience. He had the opportunity to travel, competing in baseball. But he was determined to never lose his native language or identity.
Frank went home, working in the CCC camps, lumbering up in Eckerman and in the woods with his stepfather, Ed Oga. He was renowned as a hunter, putting meat on relatives' tables while his grandmother and mother gardened and gathered food. They all spoke the language together.
In 1942, Frank joined the U.S. Army Infantry during WWII, landing at Normandy in the second wave of the invasion force. He was decorated with the Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, and European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon. He had earned four bronze battle stars, three overseas service bars, one service strip and a good conduct medal at the time of his honorable discharge in 1949.
While serving in Germany, he met and married Lieselotte “Lisa” Ernhardt. They had four daughters together — Charlotte, Freida, Heidi and Lisa. His family was a big part of his life. His sisters were Mary Hugo Lee, Francis Cameron, and Lydia Hugo Teeple. When his widowed mother married Ed Oga, she had five more children, Clara Oga Thomson, Angus Oga, Helen Oga Fish, Walter Oga, and Ethel Oga Passage.
He remained active in tribal affairs throughout his life and offered his home to visitors and guests. As an elder, he volunteered to teach the Ojibwa language in the Bay Mills Community. He traveled to Bay Mills from his home in the Soo to teach the youth their native language. While language preservation is at the forefront of today's concerns, back in the 70s Frank was already committed to helping our community recover and preserve our language.
Frank Hugo died in 1993 after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease. He is sorely missed. He lived and died an Anishnabe — strong, caring and humble. He passed down a traditional heritage from time immemorial to his family and to our community.
— Jennifer Dale, 1998
