THUNDER BAY — Twenty-four hours before Canada observes Remembrance Day, First Nations, Métis and Inuit soldiers were specifically recognized at a ceremony at Lakehead University.
The event was in commemoration of National Indigenous Veterans Day which is observed on Nov. 8. Retired lieutenant colonel Darla Oja, who is Métis and originally from northern Saskatchewan, she moved to Thunder Bay nearly 30 years ago, spoke on Monday and called to attention the multiple levels of freedom Indigenous soldiers fought for.
“When we talk about freedom, it’s easy to think of it as a simple idea, but in truth, I think freedom has layers, and this is my interpretation,” she told the crowd.
“The first is freedom from … fear, oppression and injustice — Indigenous soldiers fought for this kind of freedom overseas; freedom from tyranny, from violence and from the systems that try to dominate the human spirit,” Oja continued.
“They were also quietly fighting for freedom from discrimination at home.”
Elder Sheila Decorte spoke of how, despite the fact that thousands of Indigenous soldiers served in the two World Wars alone, they weren’t treated the same — even upon returning to Canada. They also had to sign away their status, she added — in effect, they had to “sign away who they are as a people.”
“It took a while for that to happen, for them to receive the same benefits that the other veterans were being given,” she told the crowd. “The war monuments honoured the non-Indigenous veterans.”
“The Indigenous veterans weren’t honoured at the war monuments right away.”
One of the many skills First Nations soldiers brought to the military, Decorte added, was the use of traditional languages to pass communications that couldn’t be deciphered by the enemy, Yet when they returned, many were subjected to a state-sponsored system designed to wipe out those languages.
For many years, Indigenous veterans weren’t permitted in legions either, she said.
Speaking with reporters, Oja — a veteran who spent 31 years as a member of the Canadian Forces — said she served because “it serves a purpose,” which, she added, is about giving back to community.
“So, 31 years, I got to travel the world, met some wonderful people, really great experiences,” she said. “Although, I don’t like to be recognized too much for them.”
“I didn’t do it for recognition.”
Still, Oja said, the occasion is important to recognize stories that have been left out of the historical narrative.
“I think a lot of the stories haven’t been heard, and making it on (a separate day) brings deeper understanding to, ‘hey, we missed this part of our history, now we’re trying to correct it,’” she said. “But we still need people to come out and look and to listen and to hear those stories.”
“Because those stories are being told (and) if no one’s there to hear them, they lose their meaning and that’s why we need to tell stories.”
National Indigenous Veterans Day was first observed in Winnipeg in 1994.
The ceremony at Lakehead was held in the university’s Agora and also featured numerous displays and artifacts on loan from several historical organizations, including the Thunder Bay Museum, the Thunder Bay Military Museum, the Native Veterans Association of Northwestern Ontario and others. One display consisted of 11 panels listing the “honour roll of Treaty No. 3” listing the names of over 300 soldiers from that part of the Northwest who saw action in the First and Second World Wars, along with the Korean War.
Communities represented include Couchiching, Manitou Rapids (now Rainy River First Nations), Whitefish Bay First Nation (Naotkamegwanning), Big Grassy First Nation (Mishkosiminiziibiing), and many others.
Another list showed the names and communities of soldiers from Treaties 3 and 9 as well as Robinson-Superior that served in the two World Wars.
“Lakehead University has a very strong commitment to truth and reconciliation, but we also have a deep history with regards to First Nations and Indigenous veterans in this area,” Gillian Balfour, Lakehead’s provost and vice-president of academics told reporters.
“The Thunder Bay Museum has done an exceptional job of documenting and making sure that the public is aware, and this is our opportunity to give back to that community and celebrate their hard work, but also appropriately recognize the contributions of Indigenous peoples to Canadian sovereignty.”
Oja, who is also now a full-time student at Lakehead, pursuing degrees in social work and Indigenous studies, said this chapter of her life is about continuing to give back.
“The purpose of giving back to community, which is why I’m back in school, it’s not just about, ‘oh, I’ve done this, I can retire,’” she told reporters. “It’s what else can I do?”
“How can I give back with meaning? And that’s through helping people.”
