![\"Colonel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ac3342f06a7c79abef7921c398d5c48f.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nPeople gathered at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum on Saturday to mark Indigenous Veterans Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n
The ceremony honoured First Nations, Inuit and Metis soldiers who served in Canada\u2019s military, and reflected on the inequities many faced after returning home.<\/p>\n
Observed every Nov. 8, the day began in Manitoba in 1994 and has since become recognized across the country. For many, it\u2019s also part of an effort to show how Indigenous veterans were treated differently from their non-Indigenous peers.<\/p>\n
Elder Verna McGregor said it\u2019s a history that must be remembered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very important because it’s part of our history,\u201d she told CBC. \u201cAnd that\u2019s reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘There was no equality’<\/p>\n
McGregor is from Kitigan Zibi Anishin\u0101beg in western Quebec, where she says there\u2019s a long history of service in the Canadian Armed forces.<\/p>\n
She said it\u2019s their sacrifices \u2014 and those of many other Indigenous members \u2014 that has helped build a good relationship between Indigenous peoples and the military.<\/p>\n
But it could always be better, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know the history of the [Indigenous] veterans who returned from the various conflicts, especially the First and Second World Wars, they weren’t treated the same as the non-native veterans,\u201d McGregor said.<\/p>\n
By commemorating the lives of Indigenous members, the public continues down the path of reconciliation, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they say, \u2018Oh, why do they need a separate day for the Indigenous veterans,’ it’s because for Indigenous veterans, there was no equality.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For Col. David Grebstad, Indigenous Veterans Remembrance Day isn’t about replacing Remembrance Day but rather about recognizing the differences in how Indigenous veterans were treated. (Cameron Mahler\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Col. David Grebstad, deputy commander of the Armed Forces Transition Group and a Red River Metis citizen, said people often tell him there should only be one Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be true if every veteran was treated the same, but we know Indigenous veterans \u2026 did not get treated the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The day is not meant to replace Remembrance Day, he said, but to acknowledge that key difference.<\/p>\n
Grebstad said the Canadian Armed Forces has made strides toward inclusion, allowing Indigenous service members to wear braids, sashes and beadwork in uniform.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose changes have all been made to make Indigenous service members feel both welcome \u2026 but also to express their Indigenous heritage and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
For McGregor, remembrance ultimately carries a universal message.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemembrance Day is almost like a recognition day of why we need peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People gathered at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum on Saturday to mark Indigenous Veterans Remembrance Day. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,38881,11827,44,123569],"class_list":{"0":"post-271105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-armed-forces","11":"tag-indigenous-peoples","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-remembrance-day"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}