Indigenous Veterans Day, taking place Nov. 8, honours the service and sacrifices Indigenous veterans have made to Canada and recognizes the challenges and unequal treatment many have experienced during and after service.
“A lot of First Nations veterans, when they returned from World War I and World War II, they weren’t treated the same as their comrades that they served overseas with,” Justin Woodcock, a First Nation veteran from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, told Global News.
Woodcock says many First Nations veterans weren’t eligible for benefits such as the Soldier Settlement Act and the Veteran Land Act.
“We know that a lot of First Nations veterans also had to give up their status in order to enlist,” Woodcock said.
“So when you combine those factors, those returning First Nations veterans fell through the cracks. They were left marginalized. And that’s not right.”
Woodcock spent nearly a decade serving in the Canadian army and the navy. After leaving the military in 2017, he decided he wanted to focus on giving back.
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“I started losing my friends to PTSD and substance use related to their service-related injuries, and I wanted to do something about it,” Woodcock said.
Woodcock now runs the First Nations Veterans Program with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, advocating for First Nations veterans, helping them to access benefits and services and connect with their culture. The program uses a medicine wheel framework, focusing on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of First Nations veterans.
“This is more than a job for me, it’s a calling. This is something that I feel I was put here to do,” Woodcock said.
Woodcock says many of their programs partner with 17 Wing in Winnipeg, which has established an Indigenous advisory team and created a sweat lodge on site. He says progress is being made on reconciliation.
“That wasn’t something that was available to me when I served, and to see that available now … We’re moving in the right directions,” Woodcock said.
He also welcomes the Canadian Armed Forces’ recent apology for a history of systemic racism and racial discrimination within the military, as well the Province of Manitoba passing Bill 210, which officially enshrines Indigenous Veterans Day into legislation.
“It didn’t always feel safe to show who you were in your identity and your culture,” Woodcock said.
“And I think that’s really changed now.”
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