While researching for their recent virtual exhibition, “Impossible Odds,” Je Me Souviens had the chance to speak with Ivan Gray, whose grandfather, Patrick Metallic of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation, fought at the battle of Hong Kong. In fact, three men from Listuguj, which sits on the border of Quebec and New Brunswick, fought with the Royal Rifles of Canada, a Quebec English-speaking regiment, in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the participation of Indigenous soldiers in World War II is vastly underexplored today. This article aims to shed light, not only on the lives of these three men, but on the journeys of Indigenous soldiers before and after World War II.
Note that the spelling of the word Mi’gmaq varies and often appears as Mi’kmaq or Mi’kmaw in other sources. This spelling was chosen to reflect the spelling used by Listuguj First Nation.
A factual error was made in the original version of the article published in the Spring 2022 issue of Quebec Heritage News. The estimate of 14,000 Indigenous soldiers should instead be replaced by the estimate of 8,500 who served during the Second World War. However, please note that the total number is still a matter of debate.
While the many soldiers sent by Canada to fight in the Second World War have been commemorated time and again for their service, Indigenous veterans have not received the same attention. Official figures show that at least 3,090 Indigenous people, 72 of whom were women, joined the Canadian military during the war, which does not include the thousands of Métis, Inuit and non-registered First Nations people who also reportedly enlisted. By some estimates, 14,000 soldiers from these communities served in the Canadian army during the Second World War.
Fighting in the Second World War with the Canadian Army
Unfortunately, systemic racism plagued the military services at the time, as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) required their recruits to be of “Pure European Descent and of the White Race” until 1942 and 1943, respectively. The Army also imposed strict health and education requirements that blocked the recruitment of many volunteers from Indigenous reserves. Due to these obstacles, it is estimated that only 29 Indigenous people served in the RCAF, 9 in the RCN, and at least 1,800 in the Canadian Army at the beginning of the conflict.
Many Indigenous people enlisted voluntarily in the military for various reasons. Like other Canadians at the time, many Indigenous people were probably attracted by the benefits offered by the military. With its regular meals, salary and pension, the army represented an attractive option at a time of economic crisis. As one Métis veteran explained:
“Men couldn’t get a job… In the army they paid a dollar-and-a-half [per day]. The most you could get around here for farming or whatever, was a dollar. A dollar-and-a-half sounded awfully good.“
Soldiers such as Charles Byce, Tommy Prince and Brigadier Oliver Martin also had a strong desire to serve Canada and went on to have long careers in the military. Some volunteers had specific reasons for joining, as they feared their treaties with Canada would be annulled if the Axis Powers won. According to Elder Isabelle Mercier of the Mishkeegogamang Nation:
“When an aboriginal person goes in and makes a contract, they will do everything they can to fulfill that contract, and many of our veterans stepped up to ensure that our treaties were secure. Because if the other side won, the other signatory would no longer be able to commit to those treaties and the treaties would be non-existent. This was talked about in my family many, many times.”
The draft that started in 1944 directly affected Indigenous communities, as many men were called up to join the army. In return, some leaders organized protests, arguing that it was unfair to force people to serve a country that did not recognize their basic rights. While we know that some Indigenous people were drafted into the army, it is hard to pinpoint the exact number who served and even harder to know how many were sent to the front lines.
Read the rest of the article on Quebec Heritage News
Article written by Julien Lehoux for Je Me Souviens, with edits by Joel Beauchamp-Monfette and Simon Berger. Translation by Amy Butcher (www.traductionsamyb.ca). The article is also available in the Spring 2022 issue of QHN and available here. To see more articles like this one, check out their archive.
This article was published as part of our exhibition on the Battle of Hong Kong: Impossible Odds. Visit our exhibition to learn more about the history of the Canadian who defended the colony of Hong Kong!
