WW1; Algonquin of Golden Lake

It has been documented that Aboriginal veterans were treated poorly upon their return to Canada. With the government stripping them of their Indian status and often barring them from entering their reserves to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, some of our Algonquin Veterans were subject to this type of treatment. This had a devastating affect on the Veterans themselves and their families. (Chief Wendy Jocko, 2019, Aboriginal Veteran Millennium Medal Ceremony in Honour of Our Veterans.)

By any measure, the participation of Aboriginal people in the country's war effort was significant. Aside from providing needed personnel for the armed forces and essential wartime industries, Aboriginal Canadians contributed through the use of their lands, which were leased or expropriated, as well as through generous donations to war funds and charities. (RCAP, 1996, p. 566.)

First, on the Matter of Enlistment / Conscription:

“Between August 1914 and December 1915, relatively few First Nations men volunteered, as the army was hesitant about recruiting them for fear the ‘Germans might refuse to extend to them the privileges of civilized warfare.’ This was not a rigid policy, and at least 200 did manage to enlist. After December 1915, the British government asked its Dominions to actively recruit Indigenous soldiers, and this led to more vigorous recruiting on reserves.” Retrieved from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indigenous-peoples-and-the-first-world-war

“On the eve of the First World War, Canada had no official policy on the recruitment of Indigenous peoples. Although they were originally discouraged from enlisting, policy would shift during the war to become more accepting of Indigenous enlistment and recruitment. In the early months of the conflict, Indigenous peoples, eager to volunteer for service, were sometimes turned away, while others were permitted to enlist. High casualty rates and the need for more troops led to new policies regarding Indigenous recruits. In 1915, military and government officials relaxed restrictions, issued formal guidelines and allowed Indigenous recruitment. By 1917, the government took a more active role in recruitment as a response to the need for more personnel. Indian agents held recruiting events on reserves to encourage more First Nations members to enlist.” Retrieved from: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1414152378639/1607908713791

“Canadian officials contemplated the role of Aboriginal peoples in the war almost from its onset. The initial response in Ottawa was hesitation. In the popular literature of the day, ‘Red Indians’ were associated with torture and scalping, practices quite unacceptable under the rules of war laid out in the Geneva Convention (1906). ‘While British troops would be proud to be associated with their fellow subjects,’ official logic held, ‘Germans might refuse to extend to them the privileges of civilized warfare.’ The recruitment of ‘status Indians’ in Canada was therefore prohibited.” Retrieved from: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/forces/D2-250-2-2009-eng.pdf

Second, on the Matter of Enfranchisement / Loss of Indian Status Registration:

“Many Aboriginal people also enlisted in the world wars for private reasons, just as many non-Aboriginal Canadians, however patriotic, enlisted for their own reasons. Enlistment exposed Aboriginal volunteers to the risks of combat, which they expected, and to new situations, places, regulations and training. However, for registered or status Indians, enlistment could ironically jeopardize the very relationship with the Crown that made enlistment right and proper. The threat was that enlistment could result in enfranchisement, which would completely terminate their membership in the Aboriginal community. This, in turn, would automatically eliminate their special relationship with the Crown.” (RCAP, 1996, p. 546.) Retrieved from: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/Z1-1991-1-1-eng.pdf

“Some Indigenous soldiers then returned home to be stripped of their Indian status. This meant that they were no longer legally recognized as ‘Indians,’ and their associated rights were taken away. They could no longer pass down status, and the rights that accompany status, to their children. Many of their ties to their community and ancestry were severed because of the forced enfranchisement.” Retrieved from: https://www.reconciliactionyeg.ca/post/fighting-for-canadian-s-rights-losing-indian-status

“A First Nations person lost status if they graduated university, became a Christian minister, or achieved a professional designation such as a doctor or lawyer or improved themselves in such a way as to be more self-sufficient. … Using this method of determination for ‘status’ many newly returned veterans could therefore have their status removed and some did.” (Baldwin, 2020) Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/inequality-for-indigenous-veterans/article_bff460ee-a3aa-57fa-bc44-5454e6521fbd.html

Third, on Algonquin Veterans from Golden Lake:

“Of almost equal distinction is the record of the Algonkins of Golden Lake, of whom twenty-nine enlisted, leaving only three men on the reserve.” (Canada in the Great World War. 1919, United Publishers of Canada, Limited. Vol. Ill Guarding the Channel Ports, p. 297.) Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/canadawar03variuoft/canadawar03variuoft/page/n11/mode/2up

As stated above, although there are additional Algonquin veterans (see also Jocko, 2019), this record below list 18 Algonquin Veterans from Golden Lake beginning with Patrick J. Aird ending with an illegible name. (WW1 Indian Affairs RG 10 Vol 6771 file 452-29, p. 62.) Retrieved from: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=2095973&q-RG%2010%20Vol%206771%20file%20452-29

Forth, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People (RCAP) on the Algonquin Veterans of Golden Lake:

“There was an early burst of spontaneous enlistment by Aboriginal people that reflected the patriotic enthusiasm of Canada’s general population. Agency lists of those who volunteered are remarkable. For instance, the record from Golden Lake listed 18 men, most of whom served in France; seven were wounded, and five were killed in action. At war’s end, only three able-bodied men of service age remained at Golden Lake.” (RCAP, 1996, p. 550). Retrieved from: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/Z1-1991-1-1-eng.pdf

Fifth, on the Matter of Soldier Settlement Plan:

“Indian soldiers did not capitalise on the second cornerstone of Canadian First World War veteran care system – the soldier settlement plan – either. Those who wanted to obtain land offered to veterans on the basis of Soldier Settlement Act faced substantial difficulties. This act directed that soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, disabled veterans who had been awarded pensions, and soldiers serving in the allied armies who had lived in Canada before the war, could purchase a farm or apply for a 160 acre land grant, paying only 10% of its overall value, which could not exceed $4500. The remaining part of the loan was to be paid back over 20 years at 5% interest. Additional loans for purchase of equipment, life stock or construction of a house or farm buildings could also be obtained (Morton and Wright, 1987, p. 143, 146; Soldier Settlement on the Land, 1920, pp. 12-17). The Department of Indian Affairs, however, administered the Soldier Settlement Act (SSA) for returned Indian soldiers, claiming that such a move would help to ensure optimal and efficient operation of the program on reserves.” Retrieved From: https://jmss.org/article/view/62817/46849

“In 1919, the Soldier Settlement Act provided First World War veterans who wished to farm with loans to purchase land, stock, and equipment following a Canadian tradition dating from the 17th century of settling ex-soldiers on farmland.” … “Six reserves surrendered more than 72,000 acres of land for this veteran resettlement. However, Aboriginal veterans were not eligible for this land under the Soldier Settlement Act. They were granted location tickets for land on reserves, which could be granted without band council approval, instead of the 160 acres that were promised to other veterans, and the loans available to them to purchase farming supplies were much smaller.” Retrieved from: https://www.producer.com/farmliving/soldier-settlement-was-a-double-edged-sword/

“Many First Peoples soldiers returned from the war hoping that their sacrifice and achievements on the battlefield would lead to greater recognition and improved living conditions at home. Federal policy extended many post-war benefits to Aboriginal veterans, but not as many as those accorded non-Aboriginals. Nor did the war herald a broader breakthrough in civil liberties for First Nations.” Retrieved from: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/in-uniform/first-nations-soldiers/

“When the war ended in 1918, Indigenous soldiers returned alongside their comrades to what they hoped would be a better world, but these hopes would be disappointed. The marginal political, legal, economic and social position of Indigenous peoples was unaltered by the war or their contributions. First Nations veterans — because they were already government wards as Status Indians and viewed as ‘looked after’ — found themselves largely shut out of benefits provided for returning soldiers. Doubly painful was the Soldier Settlement Act, meant to help soldiers begin farming. Not only was it almost impossible for Status Indians to qualify, but the government confiscated an additional 85,844 acres from reserves to provide for non-Indigenous soldiers under the plan. Métis and Inuit access to benefits remains a mystery.” Retrieved from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indigenous-peoples-and-the-first-world-war

“After they returned to civilian life in 1918, First Nations veterans did not enjoy the same benefits as other Canadian veterans. The Canadian government’s view was that, as Status Indians, they were already receiving government support not available to other Canadians, and that it would be unfair for them to receive the additional support provided to other veterans. This meant that First Nations veterans were not eligible for farmland made available under An Act to assist Returned Soldiers in Settling upon the Land (Soldier Settlement Act), assented to on 29 August 1917 and amended in the version that came into force on 1 January 1919. Not only were Indigenous veterans unable to acquire land under the Act, but also, in order to make land available to other veterans, the federal government, according to various estimates, acquired between 35,000 and 75,000 hectares of ‘Indian lands’.” Retrieved from: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/ACVA/Reports/RP10301835/acvarp11/acvarp11-e.pdf

“Another injustice that Indigenous veterans faced after serving in the military, was the denial of the benefits that non-Indigenous veterans received. For example, after the First World War, Indigenous veterans were denied benefits under the War Veterans Allowance Act, and were given unequal access to support from the Last Post Fund. Indigenous veterans could also return home to find that their land had been expropriated (taken away) by the government, to be given to non-Indigenous veterans.” Retrieved from: https://www.reconciliactionyeg.ca/post/fighting-for-canadian-s-rights-losing-indian-status

“The equal treatment that Indigenous veterans experienced disappeared once they returned home to Canada. Veterans’ benefits and support from the Canadian government were put in place but the implementation of the programs on reserves was vastly different than elsewhere in Canada. The Soldier Settlement Acts of 1917 and 1919 were key government initiatives that attempted to look after veterans by providing them access to land and low interest rate loans for farming implements/improvements. The program was administered through the Soldiers Settlement Board, but when more land was needed and when Status Indian veterans expressed an interest in taking advantage of the program to farm on their own reserves, the Department of Indian Affairs became involved in the administration of the Act.” Retrieved from: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1414152378639/160790871379

“The forcible enfranchised of returning veterans, denial of War Veterans’ Allowance Act benefits, the inequitable application of the Last Post Fund (to ensure that no Canadian or Allied veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial as well as a military gravestone due to insufficient funds), and also the 85,000 acres of allegedly ‘surplus’ reserve land that were surrendered for non-Indigenous veteran settlers, further frustrated Indigenous veterans during the 1920s and 30s.” Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/inequality-for-indigenous-veterans/article_bff460ee-a3aa-57fa-bc44-5454e6521fbd.html

More from RCAP:

“Neither treaty nor non-treaty Indians were able to homestead in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta or the North (the Territories), since the Indian Act barred them specifically from ‘acquiring a homestead or pre-emption right...to a quarter-section...in any surveyed or unsurveyed lands in the said provinces.’ The result was that most Aboriginal veterans were excluded from the standard benefits supposedly their right as veterans under the Soldier Settlement Act. To all other veterans the act offered a homestead; a purchase or lease from the Soldier Settlement Board of land, stock or equipment at reasonable rates; a loan advance or mortgage; and farming instruction.” (p. 553)

“Indian veterans had no access to veterans affairs administrators, as we have seen, since IAB [Indian Affairs Branch] personnel had taken over their responsibilities. In addition, Aboriginal veterans seldom had access to Royal Canadian Legion branches and newsletters. These were very helpful to most other veterans, informing them about the benefits available and helping them find out how to obtain them. In addition, they provided a useful means for discussing and comparing experiences on the subject. However, status Indians were usually barred from participation in the Legion, because Legions served liquor, and Aboriginal men subject to the Indian Act could not attend functions where liquor was served. Exclusion of Indian veterans from Legions was extremely discriminatory, considering they had fought, been wounded and died alongside their non-Aboriginal comrades. But the Indian Act was inflexible on the issue of access to liquor. In only a few locations, such as Tyendinaga, did status Indians enjoy Legion membership. This exclusion served not only to separate Indian veterans from their wartime companions, but also jeopardized their receipt of veterans benefits.” (p. 574)

“Some status Indian veterans were susceptible to suggestions that they should enfranchise, very likely because of their frustration with the Indian agent intermediaries, the inequity in benefits available through the act and its amended version, and the seemingly endless wait for benefits to be awarded. Many were being advised by agents that enfranchisement was the secret to getting all the veterans benefits quickly. There are no precise figures identifying those who enfranchised in hopes of expediting the receipt of benefits or getting the level of benefits to which non-Aboriginal veterans were entitled, as the only available statistics include many other people who enfranchised in the same period. However, a pattern can be discerned: there was a significant increase in enfranchisements in the years 1944 to 1950, from a low of 45 in 1942-43 to a high of 447 in 1948-49, and this increase surely includes many Second World War veterans. … The portrayal of enfranchisement as the easy solution was misleading to Indian veterans. Although loans would technically become available, a man without a home or community, isolated from family, and often without a job, was a poor credit risk. In addition, the grant that the veteran might have received on the reserve was, of course, no longer an option. He might get ‘awaiting returns’ if he started a business; also, he was certainly eligible for a re-establishment grant if he could demonstrate that he had a viable idea for a new start. However, the odds were against newly enfranchised veterans. Most Indians stayed on their reserves and accepted lower veterans benefits, although not without protest.” (pp. 580-1).

“Although Indian veterans may have been well respected in their own communities, outside the reserve they were often not treated as equals, denied employment and refused permission to join fellow veterans at the Legion. This was often a bitter disappointment. One such veteran reported ‘I could not understand why it was so embarrassing to come home... my people looked up to me as a veteran and then saw me being treated like dirt.’” (p. 581). Retrieved from: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/Z1-1991-1-1-eng.pdf

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WW1; Algonquin of Golden Lake