Families, veterans honour Indigenous Veterans Day at Toronto ceremony

Veterans and loved ones gathered at the Spirit Garden outside Toronto’s city hall on Saturday for a ceremony honouring Indigenous veterans. 

With beaded poppies, music and sacred offerings, about 100 attendees paid homage to the lives lost in service. 

Indigenous Veterans Day was first commemorated in 1994 and is celebrated across the country on Nov. 8.

Rob Baskey, senator for the Métis Nation of Ontario Veterans Council, said Indigenous Veterans Day honours Indigenous members of the military, but also remembers the injustice they faced. 

“The way it started was, some Mohawk warriors weren't allowed to lay a wreath at the cenotaph,” Baskey said.

Baskey, who was deployed to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in 2012, carried the eagle staff in Saturday’s ceremony. He said the red panel on the staff is a physical representation of the bloodshed of the Métis who served. 

“There are also three sets of 11 eagle feathers on the staff that represent the 11th hour of the 11th day,” said Baskey. 

Jennifer Hammond has attended the ceremony every year for the last five years.

Hammond’s grandfather was in residential school at the time of the Korean war. When he was a teenager, he enlisted to escape. She said attending the ceremony is away for her to recognize his contributions and sacrifice.

She said he didn’t talk to her about his experience when she was young, but she heard stories about when he returned home.

“In that time, they didn't understand PTSD like they do today. So there [were] times when he would be found in the bathtub, just having recollections of what happened.”

Mayor Olivia Chow attended the ceremony on Saturday. She called Indigenous veterans’ service “courageous” and said it is important to understand their contributions.

“I don't believe that Canadians understand the truth of how Indigenous veterans have fought,” she told CBC Toronto at the ceremony.

“Recognizing that truth can take us a small step forward where we could all work for change and to reconcile.”