Honouring our Indigenous Veterans

November is when we don our red poppies and remember our veterans, those who fought for Canada in war time. While November 11th is Remembrance Day across our country, November 8th is National Indigenous Veterans Day.

Sargent Tommy Prince is one of Canada’s most decorated Indigenous soldiers. We visited Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Manitoba to learn more about the hero and the man. Students Kash Thompson, Micah Sinclair and Kendrick Bear give us an enthusiastic tour around and show us the humble monuments that bear this local hero’s story. Gertrude and Bill Ballantyne regale us with stories about Sargent Prince's generosity and humour and his son Tommy Prince Junior shares his fondest memories of his dad.

Even though Indigenous people across Canada were being denied rights as citizens during the great wars, many still chose to stand with the Crown. John Moses knows the minds and hearts of Indigenous soldiers on a personal and historical level. He served with the Canadian Armed Forces for five years and co-authored a Commemorative History of Aboriginal People in the Canadian Military. He discusses Indigenous soldiers' many motivations for enlisting and the impact their service had on their home communities.

After decades lying in unmarked graves – the names of eight Indigenous veterans are now etched in stone. Earlier this year, The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte found and marked their resting places. Chief Donald Maracle of Tyendinaga Mohawk Council says they are taking action to make sure the soldiers are never forgotten again.

Francis Pegahmagabow was one of the most highly decorated Indigenous soldiers. “Peggy,” as many called him, was from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ontario. He served as a marksman in the First World War and had over 300 enemy kills and captured 300 more. But back home, the Canadian government and its Indian agents made life difficult for Peggy. Decades after Pegahmagabow made history, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people decided to tell his story through music. That group included Armand Garnet Ruffo, an Ojibway poet and professor at Queen’s University and Brian McInnes, the war hero’s great-grandson and the author of a book about his great-grandfather’s life. Together they created Sounding Thunder: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow, which debuted at Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound in 2018.