Five Canadian ministers marked Indigenous Veterans Day on Sunday, Nov. 8, linking Indigenous military service to Arctic security and sovereignty as international interest in the region rises.
The joint statement pointed to the Canadian Rangers as a present-day form of Indigenous military service. It credited the Rangers’ knowledge, expertise and experience with contributing to Canada’s security and sovereignty as international attention to the Arctic grows.
The five signatories were Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight, who also serves as Associate Minister of National Defence; National Defence Minister David J. McGuinty; Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty; Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand; and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty.
The ministers also named veterans Francis Pegahmagabow, Tommy Prince and Charles Henry Byce as leaders whose service shaped later Indigenous military leadership. The statement highlighted Afghanistan veteran Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Jocelyn Paul, who is from the Huron-Wendat First Nation and received the Meritorious Service Cross. Paul later became the first Indigenous officer to lead the Canadian Army.
The government said it would continue working to ensure Indigenous veterans receive recognition and support. The ministers urged Canadians to honor First Nations, Inuit and Métis veterans alongside people serving in the military today.
