What Is Indigenous Veterans Day? Honouring Service on November 8

Two days in November

Every November, many Canadians pin a red poppy to their coats and pause for a moment of silence on November 11, Remembrance Day. Three days earlier, on November 8, there is another day of remembrance that fewer people know about.

The Canadian Encyclopedia says Indigenous Veterans Day is observed in Canada on November 8. It honours First Nations, Inuit and Métis members of the Canadian armed forces. A veteran is a person who has served in the military. National Defence, the federal department in charge of Canada's military, describes the day as being observed in addition to Remembrance Day, not instead of it.^[1]

How the day began

Indigenous Veterans Day did not begin with a government order. The Canadian Encyclopedia says it began as an idea of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association, a group of veterans. The first Indigenous Veterans Day was held on November 8, 1993. In 1994, the government of Manitoba officially recognized the day. Today, the encyclopedia says, it is recognized by the federal government and observed across the country.

Sources do not always describe a beginning in the same way. A 2025 National Defence article says the day was established in 1994. The encyclopedia gives 1993 for the first observance and 1994 for Manitoba's official recognition. Careful readers notice when two sources give different dates and look for the reason. Here, the two sources may be counting different starting points: the first ceremony, or the first official recognition.^[1]

Who served

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people have served in Canada's military for a long time. Veterans Affairs Canada, the federal department that supports veterans, gives these numbers. More than 4,000 Indigenous people served in uniform during the First World War. In the Second World War, more than 3,000 First Nations members served, along with an unknown number of Inuit and Métis people. Several hundred served in the Korean War.

Altogether, Veterans Affairs Canada says it has been estimated that more than 12,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit people served in the conflicts of the 20th century, and at least 500 of them died.

Joining up was not always easy. Veterans Affairs Canada explains that many recruits had to travel great distances from remote communities to enlist. Many also had to learn a new language and adjust to a very different way of life.^[2]

Skills and stories

In the First World War, Veterans Affairs Canada says, hunting and tracking skills helped many Indigenous soldiers become snipers and scouts. Indigenous soldiers earned at least 50 awards for bravery in that war. Francis Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal with two bars, which means he earned it three times. A monument in Parry Sound, Ontario, remembers him as Canada's most decorated Indigenous soldier of the First World War. John Shiwak, an Inuit soldier, was a sniper in the same war.

In the Second World War, some soldiers who spoke Cree used their language as a code. Veterans Affairs Canada says Cree-speaking soldiers, including Charles "Checker" Tomkins of Alberta, translated radio messages into Cree so the enemy could not understand them. Tommy Prince, an Ojibwa soldier from Manitoba, served in both the Second World War and the Korean War, where he fought at the Battle of Kapyong in April 1951.^[2]

Coming home

When the wars ended, many Indigenous veterans did not receive the same treatment as other Canadian veterans. Veterans Affairs Canada explains that, under the Indian Act, most First Nations veterans could not receive the same pensions, grants or benefits. After the First World War, some reserve land was given to non-Indigenous veterans to farm, while most First Nations veterans received only a certificate to use land their own community already had.

National Defence says Indigenous veterans were denied the same benefits, land grants and support for returning to everyday life that other veterans received. Indigenous Veterans Day remembers this part of the story too, not only the battles.^[2]

Service today and how people take part

Indigenous people continue to serve. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes service in peacekeeping and in Afghanistan, and says that in 2022 Jocelyn (Joe) Paul became the first Indigenous officer to command the Canadian Army. Veterans Affairs Canada describes the Canadian Rangers, a reserve group that works mainly in the North and along remote coasts, using knowledge of the land to watch over coastlines and help with local rescues.

How can people mark the day? National Defence invites Canadians to attend ceremonies, read the stories of Indigenous veterans or take time to reflect on what they gave. In Ottawa, the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument honours Indigenous people who served, from the First World War to today. Learning one veteran's name and story is a good place to start.^[3]