Lost from the Ottawa: The Story of the Journey Back

Plamondon’s story is a classic tale of a Native infant “adopted out” into an alien world and denied his rightful inheritance. The sometimes tragic, often humorous life journey finally closes the circle and returns the author to his Tribe and family where he becomes a valued and trusted member of his community. In 1945 the author was born to Native American parents who were patients in a State mental hospital in Michigan. At 18 months he was adopted into the world of white, working-class Catholics. A troubled childhood led to reform school at 15, arrests for drunken assault at 16, and leaving home to become a hitchhiking vagabond at 17. By 19 he was a union organizer of migrant farm workers for the AFL/CIO. In 1968 he co-founded the White Panther Party, a militant organization dedicated to revolutionary change and a culture based on justice and cooperation. In the fall of 1969 the author was indicted for bombing a CIA office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He fled ÒundergroundÓ and was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. He remained a most wanted fugitive for a year while he traveled to Canada, Europe and Algeria. His capture by the FBI lead to revelations of illegal government wiretaps, which resulted in a landmark Supreme Court decision in defense of the Fourth Amendment and a Plamondon victory. The Supreme Court decision set in motion the planets that would ultimately collide and create the political whirlwind known as “Watergate” and the downfall of Richard Nixon. Later the author found work as a bodyguard for rock stars, which lead to five years in the rock fast lane. Drugs and alcohol nearly killed him. In the course of his recovery from alcoholism Pun met an Ottawa elder who put him on the path to his Ottawa people, and later his biological family. He now is a valued member of his Native community and active with his clan and Tribe.