Aboriginal Veterans Essential Facts & Time Line

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• First World War: at least 4,000 Aboriginal Canadians volunteered to join. Second World War: more than 3,000 served, and several hundred (estimate) helped during the Korean War. Aboriginal Canadians also served in peacetime special duty areas.

• More than 500 Aboriginal Canadians gave their lives during these conflicts.

• The total number of Aboriginal volunteers in the First World War is unknown as not all Indian recruits had been identified; the Department of Indian Affairs’ main concern was Treaty Indians; accordingly, it rarely took into account the number of Inuit, Métis and non-status Indians. Also, enlistments in the Territories and in Newfoundland were unrecorded.

• Aboriginals’ military service was perhaps ignored as they comprised a small percentage of the total Canadian forces employed. They were scattered among various units, mostly in the Army; several joined the Navy and the Merchant Marine, some the Air Force. They suffered their share of casualties, and were in the front line of every major Canadian land battle.

• Most Aboriginals served in the infantry, primarily because that service required the most manpower. Other branches of the military had entrance restrictions such as educational requirements, or preference for candidates whose ancestors were Euro-whites. These regulations were eventually rescinded; nonetheless, some Aboriginal Canadians voluntarily joined and were accepted in both services from the start.

• The cultural shock for Aboriginals upon enlistment was severe; many had little contact with the regular forces of Britain or Canada or with militia. The ideas and skills of many were rooted in their history and culture. For example, they viewed the death of an individual as a vital loss to the social group; thus, heavy casualties were a severe blow in Aboriginal communities in Canada. It is known, however, that native tactics included stealth and concealment; dispersion, sniping and ambush became a style of fighting and was copied by others.

• Between the two world wars, Indian reserve lands were sold to the Soldier Settlement Board for veterans who wished to farm, by Order-in-Council (PC 393 of 16 February 1918). Many thousands of acres were leased to white farmers for up to five years to promote greater agricultural production for the war effort. This scheme lasted until 1922.

• A few Aboriginal Veterans, mostly from Ontario, obtained loans and purchased land outside of reserves without losing their Treaty status, but only half a dozen grants of free land under the Soldier Settlement Act of 1919 were given to First World War Aboriginal Veterans on the prairies, off reserves. Out of some 25,000 soldier settlers to whom loans were granted, only a small number were Aboriginals.

• From the 1920s, the Last Post Fund burial privilege and pension relief were discontinued, as Aboriginal Veterans on reserves were treated exclusively as Treaty Indians. This policy was subsequently modified.

• Vocational training following the First World War was offered to veterans, including Aboriginal veterans disabled by the war, by the Department of Soldiers Civil Re-establishment; however, more should have been done for all Aboriginal veterans.

• Many First World War Aboriginal veterans returned to their previous means of livelihood, despite a reduced demand for goods and services during the depression era. Notwithstanding, unemployment was particularly high among native labour. Aboriginal veterans did not receive the same assistance as other returned soldiers under the War Veterans Allowance Act; as of 1932, Aboriginal veterans on reserves in need of help were to be treated like other Aboriginals on reservations rather than as veterans. This policy was changed in 1936.

• War veterans, identified as “Indian Veterans,” were penalized in the administration of Section 39(1) of the Veterans Land Act, titled INDIAN VETERANS, after the Second World War. An application for assistance under the Veterans Land Act contained a number of provisions which did not apply to veterans of non-Indian status. For example, Section 39(2) stated:

“(2) An Indian veteran shall submit reasonable evidence that he is personally fit and able to carry on the occupation by which he proposes to gain his livelihood and that by reason of his character, habits, knowledge and experience, he is capable of carrying on that occupation successfully.”

• By late 1941, rapid industrialization for the war effort created an enormous demand for labour. It was necessary to train workers in both vocational schools and on the job, and women were encouraged to join. Aboriginals benefited, but only marginally, in that some received training.

• Families of Aboriginal soldiers received the same allowance as other servicemen, but in 1941-42 new developments took place. Some allowances were placed under the control of the local Indian agent, and Aboriginal soldiers and dependants were urged to invest in war savings certificates or Indian trust funds if they wished to receive maximum benefits.

• Annual reports by the Department of Indian Affairs noted increases in both the number of recruits and the amount of money donated by reserve communities to help fight the international war that raged in Europe (including money for war orphans and other war-relief efforts).

• Aboriginal Canadians actively contributed to the war effort on the home front, working in factories and increasing agricultural production on their reservations. Some reserve lands were given by Aboriginals for use as airports, rifle ranges and defence posts.

• Aboriginal women also made sacrifices and contributions during the war: tending sick and wounded soldiers; being active in patriotic leagues, and participating in Red Cross societies, collecting food, money and clothes to ship overseas.

• Some Canadian Aboriginals enlisted with the American forces during both wars as Americans had more lenient physical standards, better pay and less discrimination. (Canadian Aboriginals serving with the American forces who moved to the United States were eligible for American veterans benefits, but the US made no special provisions for Treaty Indians.)

• Industrialization and urbanization, the opening of remote areas, and better communication in the post Second World War era did not benefit Aboriginal Canadians.

• Aboriginal soldiers earned a minimum of 17 decorations for bravery during the Second World War, participating in every major battle and campaign, including the Dieppe landings and the Normandy invasion. There were also at least 16 Indians and Métis in the Hong Kong force; nine died from wounds or illness as PoWs.

• During both World Wars, enlistments of Aboriginals was encouraged by the Government and the response was far greater than their pre-war treatment merited. There was enduring patriotism among Aboriginal veterans and their families, in spite of wartime sacrifices. Most viewed their war service with pride, although there was some bitterness and anger lingering from neglect in their history.

• Aboriginal Canadians, strongly encouraged to enlist, paid a significant toll in killed, wounded and sick. In contrast to their countrymen, who made political and economic gains, the situation of many Aboriginals remained the same. Their sacrifice achieved very little for them politically, economically or socially in post-war years.

• As indicated thus far, the Government of Canada failed almost entirely in establishing legislation and/or regulations and procedures which took into account the special circumstances of Aboriginal veterans.

• Using the Re-establishment Credit available to other veterans as a basis, it should be both feasible and appropriate for the Government of Canada to establish a figure for compensation based on the amounts available as War Service Grants Act or Re-establishment Credits, but recalculated in regard to a formula for investment yield based on a term extending from 1945 to 2002.

• The amount, if amortized over a 57-year term, would probably be sufficient to warrant compensation within the following rough calculation:

  • For periods of service in Canada only: $7,500.00 for each year, with portions of a year being included;

  • For periods of service in a Theatre of Actual War (as defined in the War Service Grants Act, or the appropriate legislation for Korea): double the amount above.

• It is intended that this benefit would be paid to the widow (as defined in the Pension or War Veterans Allowance Acts), should the veteran have predeceased her.

  • Such payments would be exempt from federal and all other taxes.

  • Such amounts should be paid, irrespective of whether the recipient is in receipt of other allowances from the federal\provincial government or other sources.

  • The payments should be made directly to the veteran, if alive, or to his widow.

• On June 21, 2002, the Honourable Minister of Veterans Affairs for Canada offered the sum of $39 million as compensation for approximately 1,800 Treaty Indians who had returned to the reservation lands following their war service.

• Although the Government stated specifically that the offer should not be considered as an indication of liability on the part of the Canadian people, the explanation of Minister of Veterans Affairs Dr. Rey Pagtakhan could not be interpreted as anything but an admission of failure on the part of the Government to make provisions for a certain class of Indians on the same basis as that offered to other veterans under the Veteran Land Act.

• On June 22, 2002, the National Aboriginal Veterans Association approved a submission to the Government of Canada requesting compensation for all Aboriginal veterans, or their widows, based on demonstrated discrimination in that they were deprived of post-war rehabilitation benefits available to non-native war veterans.

• On July 12, 2002, The War Amputations of Canada, which has NGO status before the human rights tribunals of the United Nations, filed a claim with the Human Rights Committee of the UN in Geneva on behalf of all Aboriginal veterans who, because of their native status, were unable to qualify for rehabilitation benefits after their war service. The proposal has the support of the National Council of Veteran Associations, of which the National Aboriginal Veterans Association is a constituent member. The NAVA charter speaks for Métis, Inuit and both non-status and Treaty Indians.

• Whereas the basis of the discrimination for the “Treaty” veterans involved withholding legislative benefits for those wishing to pursue farming ventures involving the purchase of land, the discrimination against other Aboriginal veterans was based on their inability to avail themselves of a rehabilitation program obviously designed for non-native veterans who, prior to enlistment, had attained a reasonable standard of education and other benefits of the so-called white man’s society.

• The fact that a veteran – whether of native or other origin – may or may not have taken advantage of one or more of the government’s rehabilitation programs is of no consequence in this matter. The paramount issue is the fact that the rehabilitation program was obviously designed for the so-called Euro-white or other non-native veterans and, by comparison, represented almost total exclusion of the Aboriginal veterans. Such is, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a form of continuing discrimination.

• On February 6, 2003, the National Council of Veteran Associations stated that their representatives in Geneva would now be able to proceed with the claim on behalf of Métis war veterans. The announcement came from NCVA Chairman, Cliff Chadderton, following a decision by Mr. Justice Ian McLellan to the effect that a class action on behalf of aboriginal war veterans could not succeed. The reason being that a class action was not the preferable procedure in the circumstances of the case as the issues of discoverability relating to each plaintiff overwhelms any common issues.

• source : waramps.ca

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