Remembrance Day

Here in Canada, November 11 is the day we remember soldiers who died fighting in the wars in which Canada has fought. Increasingly over the years, Aboriginal veterans are getting their due. Back in the twentieth century, Indians who went to war for Canada lost their rights when they returned. This meant that they were no longer considered Indians, could no longer live in their communities or receive treaty and other benefits. This was called “enfranchisment” and was a sore point in Canada-First Nations relations for decades.

Despite that, Aboriginal veterans are proud of their service and the sacrifice that they made for Canada, even as their home country was dispossessing them of lands and rights. In many ways, Aboriigial vets returning from the second world war and the Korean war set the stage for the modern migrations of First Nations people to Canada’s urban areas. These vets created the first Aboriginal middle class and quietly slipped into the mainstream society to work and raise families, still connected to their home communities and yet disenfranchised from their nations by the government they had fought for.

So, like all good stories, it’s complicated.

For your remembrance day reading today, have a peek at some Aboriginal veterans resources and learn a little more about these stories, and the Aboriginal men and women who offered their lives for a country that wouldn’t respect them when they got home.