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SAULT STE. MAREI, Mich. - Bay Mills Community College's Director of Native American Studies Mike Willis was awarded the Frank Victor Hugo Award at the 12th annual Nishnaabemwin Tag Language Conference held at Sault Ste. Marie's Kewadin Casino on March 31. Willis was the ninth recipient of the coveted award.
Both BMCC and the Bay Mills Indian Community selected Willis, who is also the Treasurer for the BMIC Executive Council, for the award. Willis thought he was attending the conference as a presenter and as a representative of the BMIC's Executive Council, and was surprised when fellow council member, Secretary Richard LeBlanc, called out his name as the winner of the award. Willis said he thought LeBlanc was joking around, and it wasn't until he saw his name on the plaque that he realized that he had actually won.
"I was definitely surprised," Willis said when he realized he was the recipient of the award he thought he was going to be presenting to someone else. "But at the same time, it was awesome. I thought Richard (LeBlanc) was joking around when he called my name. I wasn't sure I had won until I saw the plaque."
Usually given out to students of the Nishnaabemwin Language Institute and Nishnaabemwin Pane Immersion Program, BMCC Cultural Services Director Kathy LeBlanc said this year the college, and the community, including BMCC President Mickey Parish, Language Institute Director Doris Boissoneau, and BMIC Tribal Chairman Jeffrey Parker, decided to include all speakers of the language as potential candidates for the award.
After the group from BMCC and the community selected Willis as the winner for this year's award, BMCC Cultural Services Director Kathy LeBlanc said they decided to keep it a secret until the conference. They concocted a fake name (Paul Assinn) and asked Willis if he would present the award to "him" at the conference. According to LeBlanc, although the group went to great lengths to keep their secret from Willis, his dedication to speaking, learning and preserving the language made him the first choice to win the award.
"Mike (Willis) received the award for his outstanding effort towards learning to speak and teaching the language," LeBlanc said. "As the department head for Native American Studies at BMCC, he is really pushing for language revitalization."
Named after the late Frank Victor Hugo, who passed away in 1993 after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease, the Frank Victor Hugo Nishnaabemwin Memorial Award has been given out at BMCC's Language Instructor's Institute since 1998. Hugo was considered a pioneer in preserving the language as an elder, as he often traveled from his home in Sault Ste. Marie to teach the language within the Bay Mills Indian Community. Past winners of the award given in his honor include Bay Mills tribal members Becky Munz and Wanda Perron.
Willis has been the Director of Native American Studies at BMCC since 1996. Since his first day as the department head at the college, he has been fighting to raise awareness about the culture and language that he holds so dear to his heart. Willis, a member of the first graduating class of the Nishnaabemwin Language Institute, also sits on the Aabizii and Bear Creek drums, and teaches a drumming class at the college in his spare time. According to Willis, learning your culture, especially the language, is one of the most important things any Anishnaabe can do.
"Learning the language is one of the most important things we can do for, not only our children, but for all of us," he said. "Not only does it identify us culturally, but it adds to our sovereignty."
