William Commanda
Keeper of the wampum
William Commanda was born in 1913 in the Anishinabeg community of Kitigan Zibi, near Maniwaki. He served as chief of his community for nearly 20 years, from 1951 to 1970. During that time, was chosen as supreme leader of the North American Indian Nation Government, a particularly bold political movement for the times. Regarded as a guide and spiritual leader not only within his own nation, but throughout the Indigenous nations of North America, he was vested with the title of "keeper of the wampum". Until his death in 2011, he was the carrier of three wampum belts, bearing witness to prophecies, agreements and historical events, which he was responsible for transmitting and interpreting.
