Indigenous

Sitansisk First Nation remembers Indigenous veterans

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New Brunswick·Ann’s Eye

Every year on Nov. 8, Indigenous communities across the country honour First Nations soldiers who have served in wartime.

Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony featured blend of cultural traditions

CBC News ·

Sitansisk First Nation, also known as St. Mary’s, held its annual Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 8 at the Maqiyahtimok Centre in Fredericton. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann’s Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann’s Eye pieces by clicking here.

Thousands of Indigenous people fought for Canada in the First and Second World Wars.

Every year on Nov. 8, communities across the country honour those soldiers.

Ann Paul took her camera to the Sitansisk First Nation ceremony. Watch the video and scroll through the photos to see what she observed.

WATCH | How an Indigenous community remembers its veterans: 

Ann’s Eye: St. Mary’s First Nation remembers Wolastoqey soldiers who fought for Canada

Featured VideoDrumming, dancing and tobacco: Sitansisk held its Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 8.

People wearing winter coats sit outside in rows of white chairs.
A young girl recited the poem In Flanders Fields, speaking in both the Wolastoqey and English languages. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Lines of people in decorated military dress and Indigenous dress stand outside next to a table covered in green wreaths.
Veterans Affairs Canada estimates that by the end of the Second World War, more than 3,000 members of First Nations, as well as an unknown number of Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous recruits, had served. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A man wearing a black and red coat and a feather headdress stands outside with two older women.
Sitansisk Chief Allan Polchies spoke with New Brunswick Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy at the event. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Men in green and black uniforms stand in two lines on a patch of green grass.
Police, military and government representatives attended the ceremony. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A group of men sit outside in a circle around a drum.
The Muskrat Singers sang and drummed for the ceremony. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two men stand outside before a stone monument. One man bends down to lay a wreath. The other stands next to him.
This monument lists names of Indigenous veterans. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A young woman with braided hair and colourful clothing dances outside on the grass.
Abigail Brooks danced in honour of the veterans. ‘They can’t dance anymore, so we honour them and dance for them,’ Ann Paul said. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A woman wearing a black coat with colourful print sits outside wrapped in a grey blanket.
Elder Maggie Paul was in attendance for Indigenous Veterans Day. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Children sit on stone benches around an outdoor fire.
Students from Chief Harold Sappier Memorial Elementary School attended the event, performing a water ceremony over the ground where the wreaths would be placed. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann’s Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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