Riverton paid tribute to Indigenous veterans and marked Manitoba’s first official Indigenous Veterans Day after the provincial government enshrined it into law last week with the passing of Bill 210.
Indigenous Veterans Day has been held in Manitoba since the 1990s, but with the passing of Bill 210 it is now an official day that will be recognized every year on Nov. 8.
Hosted by the Riverton & District Friendship Centre and emceed by RDFC’s Desarae Bilinski, the ceremony last Thursday (Nov. 6) at the Riverton Hall attracted hundreds of people including Indigenous veterans, elders, families and friends of veterans, local students, municipal and provincial government representatives, and members of other veterans’ organizations.
Manitoba’s lieutenant governor Anita Neville said Manitobans are committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, and that partnership must include honouring those who defended and died for Canada.
“Indigenous people played a … part in all of Canada’s conflicts, from the muddy fields of northern Europe to the dusty hills and plains of Afghanistan. They fought for Canada even when their communities had to fight within Canada for basic rights,” said Neville. “So now as we seek to build a new Canada founded on a better understanding and a recognition of Indigenous rights, Indigenous Veterans Day is a time for all of Canada to acknowledge our great debt to those who served and those who never came home.”
David Pankratz (NDP MLA for Waverley,) who is the province’s special envoy for miliary affairs, sponsored Bill 210, The Indigenous Veterans Day Act. He said he worked with a number of Indigenous advocates – including Indigenous veterans Randi Susanne Gage and Devin Beaudry – to help bring rightful recognition to Indigenous veterans who “fought shoulder-to-shoulder” with other Canadians in the name of freedom but who, nevertheless, faced discrimination.
“They weren’t allowed to vote. They weren’t given the same rights. They weren’t given the same treatment,” said Pankratz. “This is why it’s so important that we have this day so that we can remember the sacrifices that were made and the way we went wrong in our history.”
Pankratz presented Gage with a reproduction of Bill 210 that was signed by Manitoba premier Wab Kinew and members of the government. He thanked PC MLA Richard Perchotte (Selkirk) for voting in favour of the bill and attending the ceremony.
Gage, an American-born Vietnam-era veteran who moved to Winnipeg, worked tirelessly over three decades to bring recognition to Indigenous veterans after they were prohibited by other legion members from laying a wreath during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa in 1991 because they weren’t a “nationally recognized” group and weren’t welcome.
The following year – after Gage and other Indigenous veterans established provincial and national Indigenous veterans organizations – they were able to lay a wreath at the memorial. The day was both joyous and sad.
“You see these pictures of world war two where soldiers are marching and kids come out to shake their hands, they were doing that [in Ottawa]. And one five-year-old looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, that’s an Indian. I can do this.’ A little Indigenous boy saying he can do this,” said Gage, who was overcome with emotion thinking back to that day. “We placed the wreaths … and there was a group of legion women there – and I can’t use the language because we’ve got children here – telling us we were f-ing Indians and what were we doing there and we’re not welcome.”
Gage said she went on to “battle” for official recognition for Indigenous veterans, writing countless letters and meeting with politicians. A few thought an official day for Indigenous vets was a “good idea.” Others were “racist, cold and nasty.”
“This day, Nov. 8, Indigenous Veterans Day is not a replacement for Remembrance Day,” said Gage. “The old guys [veterans] gave me direction to develop a day where they could be with their community … so they could share the true history of what they did …. They wanted to be able to tell their stories in their own community and still have time to meet up with [other veterans] on Nov. 11.”
Devin Beaudry, who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 35 years and worked alongside Gage to bring official recognition to Indigenous veterans, said official recognition is important as it honours those who sacrificed their lives in wars such as the First and Second World Wars, Korea, Bosnia and Afghanistan so that all Canadians could enjoy freedom.
With reference to Turtle Island – a name many Indigenous people use to refer to the continent of North America – Beaudry said people in the southern part of Turtle Island (i.e., the United States) are “suffering” from a lack of freedom that Indigenous people along with other Canadians fought for.
“We as a people in northern Turtle Island have that peace. We’re able to come out today to celebrate not only with our brothers and sisters in arms on Nov. 8, but with our brothers and sisters in arms on Nov. 11,” said Beaudry.
Veterans Lieutenant Colonel Rod Berscheid and his wife Captain Jody Berscheid attended the ceremony to learn more about Indigenous Veterans Day after being invited by Randi Gage.
“We were in a meeting on a separate issue with Randi Gage, and during the course of the conversation she mentioned her military service and I mentioned mine, and she talked about how she had been instrumental in setting up Indigenous Veterans Day. She invited us here today to learn more. It’s always good to learn more,” said Rod Berscheid. “The questions that I had were, ‘Why the second day? Why not just inclusion in the 11th of November?’ And [Randi] gave an articulate explanation ….”
RM of Gimli councillor Andy Damm said he too was invited by Randi Gage to attend the service. He wanted to learn more about the day as it was the “first time I had become aware of separate days as far as remembrance goes.”
The ceremony included a special honour that Pedro Correia of the Portuguese War Veterans of Manitoba Association presented to Randi Gage and Devin Beaudry.
Several organizations and individuals took part in the laying of the wreaths, representatives from the Aboriginal Veterans Autochones, councillor Corey Palsson from Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton, the Riverton Elks and the Riverton Djorfung Ladies Aid.
Pankratz laid a wreath on behalf of the federal government.
