By Mike Anderson
When Madie, 16, and Myla Beelby, 10, placed a wreath on behalf of the Chippewas of Georgina Island at the Pefferlaw Cenotaph on November 7, it was a special moment for their family, and especially their grandmother Virginia Trumble.
“We always take part in Remembrance Day. Not just for the native soldiers, but for everybody who served for us,” said Trumble, 57, whose father and grandfather served in the Second World War.
Trumble said her father, David Trumble Jr., who drowned in Lake Simcoe when she was just 12 years old, was proud of his military service.
“When Oh Canada came on during the hockey games, my dad stood at attention with his rifle,” she said.
She also said her grandfather, David Trumble Sr., who lived to be 118, served in not one but three overseas wars: WW1, WW2 and Korea.
But the pride Trumble feels for her father and grandfather is tempered by the knowledge of how Canada treated its Indigenous veterans after the wars, denying many of them the same benefits that non-Indigenous veterans received.
“They got left behind,” she said. “I was sad for my dad and my grandpa. And all the other veterans that we have on the Island.”
According to Veteran Affairs Canada (VAC), an estimated 12,000 First Nation, Inuit and Metis military personnel served in both world wars and Korea, and at least 500 lost their lives.
However, despite a long and proud tradition of military service, most Canadians are not aware of their contributions or the discrimination that many faced when they returned home.
It’s an untold story that Keswick resident Amber Brooks wants more people to know.
“Forgotten soldiers is a term used by non-Indigenous scholars when they talk about the contributions of Indigenous peoples during the wars. However, that is not the case for Indigenous people. We’ve always remembered our veterans. We’ve always honoured those who fought and died for their homeland,” she said.
“Indigenous veterans are the ones that walk out first at powwows and big ceremonies. There’s always a moment of silence for those who could not be here anymore. Native people have never forgotten their soldiers; it’s just the non-Indigenous people who have.”
Brooks, from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, also known as the Chippewas of Sarnia, has been working with Sid Giddings, president of the Georgina Military Museum, to expand the museum’s Indigenous veterans display.
Since 2018, Brooks, a teacher focused on Indigenous education, has helped Giddings gather photographs and personal mementos from families on the Island that tell the stories of their relatives and their military service.
“I took a class on Indigenous veterans before. And I realized that we have a history that’s just never talked about. And I thought that’s not right. So, I began communicating with some people from Georgina Island, and they brought in photographs and other material.”
Pt. Thomas Big Canoe, a casualty in WW2, features prominently in the museum’s display, which includes a school presentation made by his great-grandnephew.
Big Canoe, son of Thomas Sr. and Hannah Big Canoe of Georgina Island, left England with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry to help liberate Holland from Nazi occupation.
Big Canoe, who lied about his age when he voluntarily joined the army at age 17, was killed weeks before the war ended.
On March 8, 1945, his company became separated during the Battle for the Rhineland.
Big Canoe’s unit pitched camp and dug foxholes to establish a bridgehead for the following day. But the Germans were prepared for the assault, and his company got caught up in a firefight that only 26 of 200 men survived.
Big Canoe, who was 19 when he was killed, is buried at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland.
“He’s one of the few soldiers that never made it home,” Brooks said.
“For Indigenous cultures, that’s huge. We honour our ancestors, call them during smudging ceremonies, and leave feasts, like spirit plates, for them. And he can’t be here for that. He’s across the seas. We don’t know if his spirit can make it back. So we must honour his memory.”
While Brooks said most bands supported Canada’s war efforts – with some reserves contributing a higher percentage of able-bodied men than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities – many Indigenous veterans were treated with indifference and neglect by the Canadian government after their service ended.
“A lot of the First Nation’s soldiers said when they were overseas, they were one of the boys; there was no distinction between them and the men they fought with. And the men they fought with had the utmost respect for them, for their comradeship and professionalism. And they say when they came home, it was back to the old ways,” she said.
Brooks said that Indigenous soldiers, many of whom didn’t speak English, faced blatant discrimination during the First World War.
“It was illegal for Indigenous people to join up for the first couple of years. The Canadian government believed they weren’t capable of handling trench warfare. So if they joined up, they risked losing their status,” she said.
However, by 1916, the government’s attitude changed – it needed more able-bodied men – and it began to actively recruit on reserves, often through the government’s Indian Agent.
Brooks said Indigenous soldiers became known for their bravery, often employed as scouts and messengers outside the trenches.
“Cpl. Francis Pegahmagabow, from the Wasauksing First Nation, was the most decorated Indigenous soldier during WW1. He was a sniper and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in Belgium and France,” she noted.
But, like many Indigenous veterans, Pegahmagabow was denied his back pay after returning to Canada.
And, while some Indigenous veterans qualified for pensions, they often had them withheld by the Indian Agent, who decided how they would be best spent.
Things did not improve for Indigenous veterans after WW2.
While most non-Indigenous veterans received benefits like subsidized post-secondary education, business loans, and financial assistance to buy land to build homes and start farms, Indigenous veterans were denied these benefits.
It was not until 2002, after pressure from Indigenous veterans groups, that Ottawa offered compensation, up to $20,000 for each First Nations veteran or their surviving spouses – only 1,000 veterans were still alive – for the benefits and assistance denied to them after they returned home.
“Before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came out, our history wasn’t really taught in schools. It was kind of out of sight, out of mind,” Brooks said.
“You know residential schools were still operating when I was alive. That’s still so very recent, so I can see why the Canadian government would want to hide their shame with all the stuff they’ve done with Indigenous veterans.”
While Brooks said many reserves, like Georgina Island, have a cenotaph to remember its Indigenous veterans, she would like to see their contributions acknowledged in the wider community.
The Sutton cenotaph has a plaque commemorating the significant role Indigenous peoples’ played in defence of British North America during the War of 1812. Still, there is no mention of their contributions in WW1, WW2 and Korea.
“We should showcase that life might not have been great for Indigenous veterans, but they fought 100 percent to support Canada and the Crown. So Canada should honour that fact that our people died and did not return,” she said.
The Georgina Military Museum, located at 26061 Woodbine Ave. in Keswick, reopened on July 17 after 16 months of closure. It’s open on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All other times are by appointment only; please email frontdesk@georginamilitarymuseum.ca, or call (905) 989-9900.
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