FRIENDS

Wilfred Peltier (pen name Wilfred Pelletier) was born in Wikwemikong, Ontario on October 16, 1927. Actually, Wilfred celebrated two birthdays. His second birthday, he joked, was October 27th – the date of birth recorded on his status card.

According to his long time partner, Nancy Stewart, “Wilfred had conflicting ID, and on his birth certificate his name was ‘Winfred’.  Alanis (Obamsawin) used to call him Winnie-fred and I remember him showing her his birth certificate and how funny it was for her to see “Winfred.”  I think his status card had his birthday being on the 27th confused with 1927 the year of his birth.  Then there was the Peltier/Pelletier issue so throughout the years there was confusion.  Mostly it was just fun.”

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Adrian Trudeau, was born on Aug 27, 1973 and was from Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation. He was a self-taught artist, whose art followed in a strong tradition of Anishnaabe visual artists from Manitoulin Island. But Adrian developed his own unique style, evident from his creative backgrounds and original detailing.

Adrian was a gifted and prolific artist. He started painting on very small canvases and within six months he had progressed to larger sizes. He was also not afraid to experiment. Friends often witnessed him blowing the colours on the canvas with a straw, or experimenting in other ways. He once added salt to the wet paint to see what it would do.

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