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January 23, 2005'Journey Back' is wildMan's life goes from adoption to redemptionByRecord-Eagle staff writer  Pun Plamondon shares his spiritual journey in "Lost From the Ottawa." Until then, the Traverse City native was a runaway train on a collision course with death, fueled by alcohol, drugs and loathing for the dominant white culture he was raised in. Plamondon takes readers along on his wild ride in a memoir called "Lost From the Ottawa: The Story of the Journey Back." The self-published book is the remarkable story of his life, from Traverse City State Hospital newborn to adopted "no-brand" kid, from Catholic school student to reform school student, from 1960s anti-war activist and White Panther to underground fugitive, from political prisoner to alcoholic rock-'n'-roll roadie. Finally, it's the story of his redemption through a 12-step program, the discovery of his Indian heritage and the love of a good woman. "I really set out to tell a good story that seemed to happen to me," said Plamondon, 59, who now leads a quiet life in southwest Michigan as a woodworker, public speaker and native storyteller. "As an activist dedicated to a lot of the principals of those tumultuous times I think it's important for the next generation to see some of the positive outcomes we had and some of the negative outcomes so they can avoid some of those pitfalls and some of our successes." Looking back on his troubled childhood, Plamondon said he was rebellious from a young age in order to seek attention. Catholic schooling at Traverse City St. Francis -- he would have graduated with the class of 1963 and occasionally attends its reunions -- only brought out the worst in him. "We got sent home for chewing gum, your shirt had to be tucked in, the girls had to kneel and their skirts had to touch the ground," he recalls. "Endless, endless, endless rules, and I hated that discipline." Like many other young people back then, he was attracted to the hippie movement because he felt alienated and disenfranchised from the culture he was raised in and saw an opportunity to create a new one. It wasn't until he discovered his biological family and embraced their native heritage -- he's a member of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians and has friends in Peshawbestown -- that he finally felt that he belonged somewhere. "The native stories were so full of moral value, kindness and moral teachings that they began to have an effect on me," he said. "And repeated telling of the stories started to fill what was a moral void in me." While he is unapologetic for his anti-war activism and remains opposed to "sending Americans out of America to fight for something that isn't a threat," Plamondon said he now realizes that those who fought in Vietnam went to war not because they wanted to, but because they felt it was their duty to their country and their comrades. Today many of his best friends are Vietnam veterans. "Anyone who stands on principles over a period of years deserves respect," he said. "I'm deeply moved by the stories veterans have to tell and the sacrifices they made." In telling his own story, Plamondon spares no details. He believes such extreme self-examination was necessary, in part because he couldn't show how far he'd come without showing where he'd been, and in part because the book is a memoir. "I thought if any memoir is to be of any value it has to be honest," he said. "I was honest in talking about other people and I felt I couldn't very well talk about my relationship with my mother, for instance, or with anybody else, and not do the same with myself." He said writing the book was often a difficult and painful process, especially when it came to the more violent episodes of his life, like the attempted rape of a friend's wife. "I'm still the kind of person who wants to be liked," he said. "My first publisher and my wife are feminists and to have to say something about an attempted rape of a woman was threatening to me. But it was important to show the absolute depths to which someone under the influence of alcohol and drugs will go." While he has been sober for 20 years, he still takes life day to day. "That's the best philosophy, whether you're an alcoholic or not," he said. Plamondon will sign copies of his book at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at Horizon Books in Traverse City.
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