Tepastenam

Tepastenam[1] (baptized as Donald William Sinclair Ross; c. 1805 – c. 1875)[2] was a respected leader (Cree: kisayman) of the Pimicikamak indigenous people in the 19th century. From oral history accounts he may have been a Midewiwin leader/kisayman. The record of his baptism in 1875 describes him as "A noted conjurer for many years, who long resisted the teachings of Christianity."[3]

  1. ^ Transliteration from oral Cree, also transliterated as "Tapastanum"; may be translated as: "Shining light".
  2. ^ Noted as 70 years of age in Wesleyan-Methodist Register of Baptisms Norway House 1840-1889, United Church Archives, Winnipeg, on July 11, 1875; cited in Margaret Anne Lindsay & Jennifer S.H. Brown, The History of the Pimicikamak People to the Treaty Five Period, The Centre for Rupert's Land Studies at The University of Winnipeg (2008), Appx. F.
  3. ^ Wesleyan-Methodist Register of Baptisms Norway House 1840-1889, United Church Archives, Winnipeg.