| 2020. 22 Dec |
The passing of William (Billie) Ekomiak (b. 23 December 1943 in Cape Jones, QC (now Pointe Louis-XIV)), in Messines, Québec from complications of COVID-19. He was buried in the Cimetière St. Raphael in Messines, QC. [Obituary]
His mother, Lucie Menarik Ekomiak, passed away while he was a small child and he was adopted by Aunt Martha and Uncle Thomas Ekoomiak.
He was educated at St. Phillip’s Anglican school in Fort George (Chisasibi), located further south on James Bay.
Billie was one of the first two Inuk in the world to become a Bahá'í. He first heard about the Faith in the home of Arthur and Lilianne Irwin in Ottawa and enrolled as a follower of Bahá’u’llláh at a Naw-Rúz party in 1965 in Beau Lac along with his cousin, Johnny Weetaltuk.
He trained as an electrician in Winnipeg and assisted in the building of the Bahá'í Houses in both Baker Lake and in Iqaluit.
For a history of the Ekomiak (or Ekoomiak) family see Speechless by Maureen Flynn-Burhoe.
Billie felt his life’s mission was to share the news of Bahá’u’lláh with Indigenous Peoples and he crisscrossed Canada and the United States offering firesides that wove together the teachings of the Faith with First Nations’ prophecies and spiritual insights. His most memorable presentation was at the International Teaching Conference in Anchorage in 1976. [from the announcement of his passing by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of La Pêche]
In the early 1970's the CBC contracted musicians to produce 45-RPM discs for its Northern Service. Billy was one of the 75 musicians recorded. [Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America p248]
An example of Billy's fiddle playing can be viewed on YouTube. It was recorded at an event in Wakefield.
A talk has been recorded and presented on YouTube.iiiii
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