'We'll always remember them': First Nations soldiers honoured in Mi'kmaq communities

Membertou First Nation, N.S. -

First Nations communities across the Maritimes remembered Indigenous soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on Monday.

Following the Remembrance Day ceremony in Cape Breton’s Membertou First Nation, a meal was served in a packed ballroom – a stark contrast to how Indigenous soldiers were treated during some of Canada’s most notable wars.

"I think (Remembrance Day) means more, because a lot of our people signed up for a war in the beginning - World War One and World War Two - when they weren't even considered Canadian citizens,” said Mi’kmaq culture and heritage advocate Jeff Ward.

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Despite that inequality, Mi'kmaq soldiers from across the Maritimes fought and died in all sorts of major conflicts.

"We were in the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War,” said Membertou Chief Terry Paul.

A large billboard, at the corner of Churchill Drive and Terry Way in Membertou First Nation, is adorned with the faces of those who have served, dating back generations.

"(It’s so) that they know that we'll always remember them,” Paul said.

Moments of remembrance on both sides of the Atlantic are helping to make up for the lack of recognition their ancestors received.

• In Pictures: Marking Remembrance Day in the Maritimes

"When I went to France with Sons of Membertou in 2017, I looked up and you could see the same stars that we were under,” Ward recalled. “So it allowed us... that we always knew where we were."

In recent years, banners have been displayed on telephone poles in Eskasoni First Nation to remember the community's S'makinis - or soldiers.

However, for a long time, Remembrance Day ceremonies were not part of the history of the First Nation.

"We had to get that permission from the legions and from the different organizations - Veterans Affairs - and it was granted,” Ward said. “But mind you, not all First Nations communities have what we have here today."

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