Remembrance Day is a powerful occasion and also a difficult one. I am proud to honour the many people who have given their lives and made such great sacrifices. But it is also uncomfortable thinking about how much we have asked and continue to ask of our veterans. Considering the stories of Canada’s Indigenous veterans raises additional complexity & discomfort but also stirs and inpires pride & admiration.
I hope that the fascinating and powerful stories of individuals like Tom Longboat, Alexander Decoteau, Frances Pgahmagabow, Tommy Prince, William Cleary & Joseph Roussin will not only open our eyes to the contributions and sacrifices so many Indigenous Canadians have made for all of us but also help us get better at taking the time to look at and learn about each other and each other’s stories.
I am very thankful that many people sacrificed the their lives to keep Canada safe.
🙁
That was a lot of great soldiers and they will always be remembered.
This is very inspiring and sad how people died in during the war
I am very surprised that Indigenous Veterans fought for a Country that treated their ancestor’s very badly.
So does that make you think that Canada & Canadians need to take some kind of action? Are there further actions Indigenous Canadians should undertake. IS there more you want to learn about? Where should we (and where do you think you will) go from here?
It is sad that many Canadian soldiers died in many wars just to not get noticed by
anyone
Surely someone noticed, wouldn’t you think? But I’d say you are onto something about recognition. Are there things you’d like us to do differently in our acts of remembrance or elsewhere?
The people who risked their lives will always be remembered
Our Remembrance Day traditions at least ensure that some attention is returned to our veterans at least once a year. It can feel encouraging that we keep up that tradition, lest we forget… But acknowledging and even confronting the fact that our veterans have been and are still sometimes ignored could be one of the most important acts of remembrance we could undertake. It’s not a comfortabe truth to reconcile, but maybe it’s the discomfort that makes it more important.
Learning about these great soldiers made feel thankful to have such great people who sacrificed their lives for canada.
I like the way you extended your gratitude and your acknowledgement to recognise people. To me that brings them closer and changes our focus similar to the way John McCrae’s lines about feeling dawn, seeing sunset, loving & being loved compel us to imagine others’ humanity.
this was sad but I am thankful that the soldiers sacrificed their lives for us to keep Canada safe.
I’m interested to know more about the sadness this brought up for you. Both sadness and gratitude hover around just about everything related to Remembrance Day. What is it in what I wrote about or in what we talked about that brings up particular sadness for you?
It was very sad and the soldiers give up their lives to keep Canada safe.
I think that the fact that lives were lost is part of the sadness most of us feel around Remembrance Day and any discussion about war or Canada’s veterans. Was there something specific about this topic of Indigenous veterans that raised particular thoughts or feelings for you?
I am so thankful for all the canadians and indegenous soldiers that fought in the war
I share the respect you express for these people who have made sacrifices I have difficulty imagnining. I am wondering what other thoughts or feelings go into the gratitude you are feeling and expressing. Does knowing more about Canada’s Indigenous veterans add to or chnage your thinking about anything else in our country or our govenrment?
i am surprised the indigenous fought with the Canadians even though the treated there ancestors very bad
Especially the way we seem to find more and more evidence showing how badly Indigenous peoples in Canada have been treated, your surprise is natural and certainly warranted. And yet, there obviously must have been some strong motivation for these men and women to decide it was worth it to them to serve Canada and even risk their lives. Maybe it says even more about them that they were prepared to stand up for what they believed in and wanted to do that more than they wanted to hold onto spite against those who had wronged them.
I’m surprised that the indigenous helped the Canadians with the wars even though the Canadians treated the indigenous very badly even to the little kids.
You seem to share some of Tyson’s concerns. Please have alook at my reply to Tyson and maybe continue a chat with him.
I think it was very brave for those soldiers who fought in the war, and veteran’s day is very important to the soldiers who fought in the war.
I’m sure that Remembrance Day is also of special importance to the families of those who have served. Maybe it is of extra importance to the younger generations who will need to make decisions that affect how and how well people from different parts of the world reolve their differences.
I wish those amazing soldiers were still with us they will be missed
Maybe it helps families of veterans to know that their family members are being remembered by young people who are learning about (and from) their experiences.
I feel bad for the people that fought in the war and passed away and didn’t get credit, and I would also like to learn more about the wars.
I think it is important to say that we are talking about Indigenous veterans who have nto been recognised over the years in the same way that other veterans have.
Remember those soldiers who fought in the war remembrance day is a day we honor and remember them very inspiring
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. I’d like to know what it made you think about when we learned about Indigenous Veterans’ Day and the stories of what some of those veterans endured after coming home from serving in the military.