Indigenous Veterans Day
November 8th
Indigenous Veterans Day Books
While residential schools and government policies aimed to destroy Indigenous culture and language, in times of war, Indigenous people were asked to use those very languages to create unbreakable code. In Canada and the United States, Cree, Ojibway, Navajo and Choctaw Code Talkers were essential to the First and Second World Wars. Thousands of Indigenous men and women have have stepped up to serve the war effort or fight for Canada, with many like Sgt. Tommy Prince proving to be legendary soldiers. Upon their return, many were stripped of their Indian status and denied the same rights, benefits, and honour given to other veterans. We celebrate the contributions of Indigenous war heroes and commemorate the bravery and resilience of Indigenous soldiers and communities in facing systemic discrimination.
Nov. 10, 2023: Honouring our Indigenous Veterans | CBC Radio 1 (50:40)
From museums and monuments to letters and laughs shared around the dinner table, Indigenous veterans are being remembered across Turtle Island.
Take a walk with us through the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where Canada’s military history is told. Indigenous Military Historian Danielle Teillet is our guide.
She tells us why so many chose to fight, what they were fighting for and recounts some of the common experiences she's heard from Indigenous veterans.
Then we head to Labrador where Heather Campbell passes on the stories of her great great uncle John Shiwak, an Inuk soldier in the first World War. Heather knows his story well because she has been learning about him since she was a little girl. To Heather he is “Uncle John” and her family has been honoring his memory for over one hundred years.
And, we land south of the medicine line in Exeter, Rhode Island to visit the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery where a beautiful stone monument honouring Indigenous Veterans now stands. That’s thanks to Lorén Spears, co-chair of the Honouring Indigenous Veterans of Turtle Island Committee and the executive director of the Tomaquag Museum. The monument is the first to honour Indigenous Veterans, even though Native Americans have fought in every war since confederation.
