November 2021
On November 11th We Will Remember
Township update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Meet Marjorie Nash . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Wonderful hot soup. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Vaccines, flu shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
A long and proud tradition of military service With files from Chippewas of Rama First Nation. Special thanks to Ben Cousineau, Community Researcher/Archivist, Culture. This year seems to be a particularly appropriate time in history to honour the military service of all Indigenous, Métis and Inuit Canadians and look at them with a larger and more thoughtful lens. While exact statistics are difficult to determine, the rate of Indigenous participation in Canada’s military efforts over the years is impressive. Volunteers were often forced to overcome many challenges to serve in uniform, from having to travel great distances from their remote communities just to enlist and then had to quickly learn a new language and adapt to cultural differences. It is estimated that more than 12,000 Indigenous, Métis and Inuit people served during conflicts in the 20th Century. This number shows a remarkable response considering that meant likely one in three able-bodied men volunteered. Extraordinarily, in one community of note, the Head of the Lake Band in British Columbia, for World War I service, every man 20-35 years of age enlisted. Their reasons for enlisting? There is no documentation to answer this specifically but the Rama website suggests it could have been to seek employment, adventure, or maybe to uphold tradition of their ancestors who fought alongside the British
in the War of 1812, a war Canada won because of their help. There is no question that these soldiers brought with them valuable skills. Those from a community where hunting was a cornerstone of life, for example, brought with them patience, stealth and marksmanship. They became successful snipers and reconnaissance scouts. There were also ‘code talkers’, enlisted Indigenous, Métis and Inuit men from every corner of the country, including from nearby Chippewas of Rama First Nation. A code talker is a particularly storied role, one that has been the subject movies and books. Their role was to translate sensitive radio messages into an Indigenous language so that they could not be understood if intercepted by the enemy. That message would then be translated into English for the intended recipients. So many Indigenous enlisted men earned high honours for their service. Willard Bolduc, an Ojibwa airman from Ontario received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Huron Brandt, a Mohawk from Ontario, earned the Military Medal for his courage while fighting in Sicily. The list of high military awards can be found on the Chippewas of Rama website, as well as a list of all Rama veterans, each one of them
Proud World War I soldiers from Chippewas of Rama First Nation. (Left to right) Owen, Jim and Barney St. Germaine. leaving a lasting mark in the history of this country. The contribution to Canada of all Indigenous, Métis and Inuit enlisted men has been recognized in several ways including the naming of Royal Canadian Navy ships, and the beautiful National Aboriginal Veterans Monument in Ottawa. Perhaps this is a year we can make a special effort to learn more about their selflessness and heroism. Heartfelt thanks to the Indigenous men and women who had so little, who traveled long distances to enlist, who learned new languages, became immersed in strange and new cultures, and brought their special skills to the fields of the horrific fields of war. We honour you and will not forget.
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