Canada and World War One
At the outbreak of World War One, Canada was still strongly linked to the British Empire. Canada, a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, was summoned as an allied force to bear arms. This was the first time a mass of Canadian soldiers went to fight overseas as part of an alliance. In January 1910 Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then Prime Minister, declared in the House of Commons, “When Britain is at war, Canada is at war. There is no distinction.”[1]
Vancouver Island Indigenous Experience
Vancouver Island, Canada’s most western region was not the most amiable area for Indigenous peoples, people of color and immigrants alike.[6]
British Columbia is a contested place for Indigenous peoples. The land question has been present in BC since joining Confederation in 1871.
Source Daily Colonist: Jan 31 1913.
The “Myth” of the Indigenous Solider
Indigenous involvement in the WWI is often met with one single discourse, the “myth” of the indigenous soldier.[2] This myth often coincides with the assumption that many Indigenous soldiers became snipers or reconnaissance scouts, “drawing upon traditional hunting and military skills to deadly effect”.[3] This is not the case for all the Indigenous Peoples who enlisted.
It is important not to generalize indigenous peoples as diversity exists.[4] Not all Indigenous peoples are the same, they are all of unique and of different nations and to liken them to one another does a disservice to the multiplicity of histories from these Nations. Generalizations regarding Indigenous peoples of Canada are “all too often presented as absolute truths, without exception.”[5]
The narrative of other Indigenous veterans has yet to be shared and is often grouped within this popular “myth” discourse. Furthermore, this discourse is also one of geographic divide, this myth was popularized in Eastern Canada, particularly Ontario. While little is known about Indigenous war experiences from Western Canada, in fact it is largely ignored.
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[1] Debates, House of Commons, 12 Jan 1910.
[2] Janice Summerby, Native Soldiers Foreign Battlefields. (Ottawa: Veterans Affairs Canada, 1993), 9.
[3] Ibid.,
[4] Daniel Sims, “Not That Kind of Indian:” The Problem with Generalizing Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Scholarship and Pedagogy. (2015). Retrieved from www. activehistory.ca/2016/01/not-that-kind-of-indian-the-problem-with-generalizing-indigenous-peoples-in-contemporary-scholarship-and-pedagogy/
[5] Ibid.,
[6] The Daily Colonist. “University Heights”. Advertisement. Victoria: Feb 26 1913. Retrieved from http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist55y64uvic#page/n6/mode/1up