The Meekis Family of Sandy Lake, Ontario
The
Sandy Lake First Nation is dominated by a few key families,
descendents of the founders who came from the
Little Crane and Red Sucker clans.
The five main clans and their surnames are:
the Suckers (Fiddler, Goodman, Harper),
the Pelicans (Meekis),
the Cranes (Kakegamic, Kakepetum),
the Caribou (Linklater, Rae), and the Sturgeon (Mamakeesic)
Violet Meekis Fiddler came to Gatineau in the summer of 1969, invited by Bobbi Graham to become accustomed to life in "the south" before being sent out to high school in southern Ontario. After graduation, she returned to Sandy Lake to marry Morris Fiddler, from the family that produced Sandy Lake's first chief.
In 1975, Bobbi visited Sandy Lake, met Fraser and Adelaide Meekis and the rest of their large family. As a result of the close connection Bobbi & Adelaide developed, Joe Meekis elected to come to Ottawa for high school, as did Paul, a year later. Both lived for a period of time in Gatineau.
Violet obtained a B.A. in Education and teaches grade 7 in Sandy Lake. Joe is the CEO of the Sandy Lake First Nation, and Paul has just completed a degree in the Native Language Teachers Program.
Members of the main clans have intermarried, so similar surnames appear frequently in the family tree. Adelaide was a Goodman. The oldest daughter, Georgina, was married to Joshim Kakegamick, a famous artist in the Norval Morrisseau tradition, who died in a tragic accident. Other notable artists from Sandy Lake include Carl Ray and Rocky Fiddler.
Read an article Bobbi wrote about Sandy Lake HERE
and another about the founding of the Sandy Lake
First Nation HERE
MEEKIS FAMILY TREE
Note: names in parentheses are deceased
The Meekis Family (undated)
Left to right: Joe, Paul (holding baby,
perhaps Charlie?), Violet, Norris, Evelyn, Georgina, Fraser Jr (?),
Centre: Fraser, Adelaide
other younger children are Nora Jane, Donna, Delilah
The family in 2014
Adelaide with "the gals", on her
80th birthday, September, 2014:
Violet, Charity, NoraJane, Donna, Evelyn, Georgina
(Fraser) & Adelaide Meekis
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Georgina & (Joshim) Kakegamic:
Violet & Morris Fiddler:
Evelyn & Gordon Tait:
Joe & Emily:
Paul & Mary:
Norris & Nida
Nora Jane:
Donna Marie Brunton:
(Delilah) & (Roger):
Fraser:
Charlie & Heather:
Elton & Sharon
Stephanie Charity
Adelaide's parents: Titus and Mary Goodman
Adelaide's sister, Kanina Leah Goodman Vinson, lives in Prince George, British Columbia.
Another old photo of some of the Meekis kids. I'm guessing this was in the early 1970s, and the kids are, from oldest (right) to youngest, Joe, Paul, Norris, Nora Jane, Delilah, Fraser and Oliver.
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Morris & Violet Fiddler, with their first
Joe & Emily at home in Sandy Lake
Joe with Pierre, son of his daughter Jemima.
Paul's graduation photo.
Donna and Adelaide, 2014
Nora Jane and Scott at his graduation.
Peter in his Pow-Wow regalia
Violet and Peter, spring 2015
Adelaide with her newest great-grandchild, |
