“Indigenous or not, we are all in the same boat”

According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, one in twenty veterans is a member of the First Nations, Métis or Inuit.

Although their historic contribution is now recognized, gratitude for them has been slow and many of them carry heavy baggage.

“The government recognized that Indigenous veterans were treated, upon returning from the First and Second World Wars, differently from other veterans,” recalls Denis Gravel, member of the Huron-Wendat Nation and retired sergeant.

Met as part of Veterans Week, the veteran does not fail to highlight the reality that afflicted the Indigenous veterans who preceded him. “They were denied benefits. It made the transition to civilian life much more difficult,” he notes.

The former radio operator recounts the experience of these veterans with emotion. “They came back to the country and they no longer had any recognition from government authorities. They were pushed aside, they returned to their community and they had nothing left to hold on to.”

Being Indigenous and enlisting

“I was on mission almost every two years over a period of twenty years,” breathes Denis Gravel, in an interview with The Sun. His 25 years of experience have taken him to Afghanistan, Bosnia and Haiti.

His experience in the Canadian forces is positive. A touch of nostalgia even emanates from the anecdotes he strings together.

Denis Gravel enlisted in the army at the dawn of his twenties. At the time, his family’s Wendat roots were virtually a secret. His mother and grandmother almost never mention it. “It was a means of self-defense to protect oneself from discrimination and prejudice,” believes the man who grew up outside the community.

He embraced his origins later, when he was already in the ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces. From then on, the reappropriation of his roots coexists well with the reality of his involvement in the army, he assures.

The others before him

Asked about the challenges encountered by members of the First Nations, Métis or Inuit within the Armed Forces, Denis Gravel immediately underlines the contrast between the treatment of some 7,000 indigenous veterans of the two world wars and the reality that he himself even observed in the field.

He remembers the camaraderie he had with his peers. “The government has recognized that there has been inequality in the treatment of Indigenous veterans, but, ironically, in the Canadian Forces, the Indigenous present with the non-Indigenous, it is a buddy“, he explains.

“It goes beyond differences. The guy next to you, you trust him enough to know that he will pick you up when you have just taken a bullet in the helmet, image Denis Gravel. It comes down to this. We are all in the same boat, Indigenous or not.”

Now involved in an advisory group that ensures the well-being of veterans, Denis Gravel remains on the lookout for the challenges specific to Indigenous veterans.

He welcomes the measures deployed to promote the integration of First Nations, Métis and Inuit members into the Armed Forces. “I believe that, of all government organizations, it is the Canadian Forces that have made the most progress in terms of the inclusion of Aboriginal people,” he says.

Denis Gravel names the Indigenous officer enlistment program as one of the tools to embrace the reality of Indigenous people joining the ranks of the army and to reverse the trend.

The fact remains that the Indigenous people involved in the Armed Forces carry within them the reality of a heritage that has long been devalued, insists Denis Gravel. The solution must be systemic, he believes.

“The imprint of the after-effects of historical education in Quebec persists despite us,” says the veteran. There is public and state education that must be considered.”

“There must be re-education,” he concludes.