 |
From Coast to Coast
Natives from bands all across Canada joined the war effort. It is estimated
that one in three able-bodied Indian men enlisted. In 1915 Duncan Campbell Scott,
the Deputy Superintendent General of the Department of Indian Affairs, noted
with some pride “expressions of loyalty from the Indians, and the offer
of contributions from their funds toward the general expenses of the war or toward
the Patriotic Fund.”
Almost all Indian bands sent men to the war, and in some bands, such as British
Columbia’s Head of the Lake Band, every single, able-bodied man between
20 and 35 joined the war effort. In Ontario, on the Grand River near Brantford,
the single largest Native band, Six Nations, sent 300 men into war. Many natives,
despite their economic hardships, donated money to the war effort as well. Most
of the 114th Canadian Infantry Battalion were Natives and along with volunteer
Indians (Mohawks) from Quebec and other Natives from Manitoba, two entire companies
were all-Native. |
|
They
adopted a distinctive sign – two crossed tomahawks
as their crest just above “For King and Country.”
Indians joined the war effort for many of the same reasons as non-natives – patriotism,
social pressure, adventure and tradition. Many Indians in Canada had a long history
of fighting alongside the British in the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
Some saw it as their duty to support England in the Great War. |
|
|
|
