Metis Warrior

07/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

07/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

A few pages from Metis James Brady's War Diary.

"This diary is very thorough and follows the narrator as a gunner in the Royal Canadian Regiment through the Italian campaign (1943) and the Battle of the Falaise Pocket (summer 1944) and the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands (through 1944 and 1945).

This is the most detailed war diary of a Metis combatant known.

Transcribed by Joseph Fauchon, from a compilation from Dave Hutchinson from the later 1980s, and edited by Darren R. Préfontaine."

The entire Diary can be read through Gabriel Dumont Institute.

07/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

Metis Soldiers Buried in Graveyards in Europe.

By: Cathy Littlejohn.

07/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

"Urban Vermette, who was a Metis from Prince Albert, Sask., served overseas twice. First, during the Second World War, where he spent nearly four years as a prisoner of war (POW) in Hong Kong and Japan. Five years after returning home, Vermette re-enlisted to serve in the Korean War.

He died in 1984 at the age of 64.

He was honoured posthumously by the South Korean government with an Ambassador of Peace medal "for overcoming pain and suffering" as a POW prior to re-enlisting to join the Korean War.

"Up until the 1970s, being called a Metis in Saskatchewan was a bad word," said Albert Vermette. (Urban's Nephew)

It is not known how many Metis and Inuit served in uniform, partly because there was no formal identification process at the time. But, we do know that at least 3,000 members of First Nations enlisted when the Second World War began.

"We believe as Metis people, we have to honour our heritage also. This is the way we show respect not only to our culture, but to the Aboriginal people that gave so much in the wars."

Urban Vermette was born in 1922, the youngest of his siblings. He enlisted in the Saskatoon Light Infantry on his 19th birthday, following in the footsteps of his older brothers Walter and Delore.

All three of them served overseas during the Second World War.

"The brothers joined with the intent in helping their family," said Albert Vermette.

Urban Vermette was a private in the Winnipeg Grenadiers, 1st battalion. He was among 1,975 troops known as "C" Force when the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada out of Quebec City were deployed to Hong Kong in 1941 to reinforce the British colony.

It would be the first place Canadians engaged in a battle during the Second World War. The vast majority of the troops had never seen combat before.

On Dec. 8, 1941, Japanese forces invaded and overran Hong Kong's defences in 17 days, killing 290 Canadians.

Vermette and another Metis solider from Prince Albert, Sask. — Robert Parenteau — were among those captured on Christmas Day.

Vermette spent nearly four years in four different POW camps. He spent two years in Hong Kong, including at Sham Shui Po Camp, before being sent to Japan on Jan. 19, 1943. There, he endured brutal conditions, starvation, and forced labour.

The POWs were liberated in August 1945 after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan's surrender and ended the war in the Pacific.

Newspapers at the time said Urban Vermette was the first POW to return home to Saskatchewan. He was 23 years old.

The family kept clippings from stories written about his arrival.

"It's all like a dream," Vermette was quoted saying in the Sept. 18, 1945, issue of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

He recounted being experimented on for new treatments of tuberculosis, and working in a shipyard to help to build freighters. Prince Albert citizens turned out "en masse to welcome" him home, according to a report from the Regina Leader Post.

Five years later, he re-enlisted and served with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 3rd Battalion, as part of the Canadian Army's contributions to the United Nations operations in Korea. He served from Aug. 9, 1951, to June 25, 1953. Details about his time there are scarce.

Vermette rarely talked about his war-time experiences with his family. The family said they found out more about his military service after his death through photos and newspaper clippings.

But his daughter, Judy Vermette, said his experiences caused him life-long struggles.

"My dad really suffered post traumatic stress syndrome," she said.

"He was a good man. He went through a difficult time in his life and it carried through with him until the day he passed."

The family said Vermette's health started to fail at an early age due to the malnutrition he suffered during his 44 months in captivity.

It took a toll on him," said Donald.

"The mental fatigue on the young men that went overseas, they were never the same when they came back."

Urban's nephew, Albert Vermette, expressed similar sentiments about his own father. While Urban Vermette fought in the Pacific, his older brother, Walter, battled on the beaches of Normandy.

"A bomb exploded close to him and he laid on the beach for three days," said Albert Vermette of his father, Walter.

The Vermette brothers' mother received a missing in action letter about Walter, although he was later found alive.

He had suffered shrapnel wounds but went on to fight in Belgium, France, and Germany.

"When he came back ... he never he never carried a gun again. He refused to go hunting. I had to learn from my cousins," said Albert Vermette."

Source: Ka’nhehsí:io Deer - CBC News.

Posted: November 08, 2021.

07/11/2024

The Letter "S" is brought to you today by Metis Time Capsule.

06/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

Patrice Fleury, a Metis veteran of 1885, lost a son in the Second World War, at which point he wrote:

". . . today there are no more staunch upholders of the rights of Canada than the Metis, and many are those of the younger generation who have laid down their lives for King and Country during the late war."

06/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

Our Metis Children Our One of our Most Prized Possessions.

Education is 🔑 KEY.

These are some resources that are Free to use.

06/11/2024

Metis History Tidbit.

Times Do Change in Metis Land.

Questions and Answers Concerning The Metis - Manitoba Metis Federation Press. 1973.

Metis/ Who are the Metis- people who are part Indian and part white. They are people of mixed-blood. Metis is a French word meaning mixed.

06/11/2024

Metis History Tidbit.

Louis Riel Was Not Always So Popular.

"A Church Official at St. Boniface Cathedral had originally turned down Teillet's Donation of Historic Documents because he felt Louis Riel was not WORTHY of the Catholic Church because Riel had once caused some Cleric to be locked up."

Source: Riel Not Always So Popular - Kainai News (July 2, 1979)

06/11/2024

Fur Trade / Voyageur History Tidbit.

The Tally Stick.

06/11/2024

Truth.

06/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

Ta Kiskisiya Simâkan’sihkânak / The Act of Remembrance


MICHIF:

Miwī wihkats kawaniskisinaw lī soldat

Nimwî wihkâc ta kihtêyôwak, piyakwan kiyanaw ôta kâ ati kihtêyôyak

Nimwî kîkwêy kihtêyôsînô âspihêwin ta pakam’skâkowak, ahpô ta mihtâtahkwâw kîkwaya

Aspin ohci kâ pahk’simok mîna kâ pî sâkâstîk

Ka kiskisinaw

ENGLISH:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

Response: We will remember them

06/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

"A digitized military service file of Private Arthur Carriere.

Among the many names engraved on the National Metis Veterans’ Memorial Monument.

Born in 1893 in St. Adolphe, Manitoba, Arthur was 24 years old, single, and a farmer living in St. Vital, Manitoba at the time of his enlistment. His next of kin is his mother, A. (Angèle) Carriere, of Ste. Rose, Manitoba.

The communities in particular —all are Franco-Manitoban with strong and continuing Metis roots. The next of kin information is often very useful to trace Metis roots, as ethnic origin is not usually stated in the file.

The Attestation Paper also indicates the circumstances of Arthur’s enlistment—the most obvious being that he did not volunteer, but was drafted under the provisions of the Military Service Act.

He reported for medical examination on November 14, 1917 in Fort Frances, Ontario, and was called up on January 11, 1918 in Winnipeg for active service as a private with the Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians), a regiment of mounted rifles.

The Casualty Form, Active Service record provides us with a very brief outline of Arthur’s activities following his enlistment. Leaving Halifax on April 15, 1918 on the S.S. Melita, the Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians) arrived in Liverpool, England on April 28, 1918.

On August 20, 1918, shortly after arriving in France), Arthur joined the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Centre where troops were held before being sent to reinforce existing units. A couple of weeks later on September 13, 1918, he was transferred to the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD), a regiment assigned to the Canadian Cavalry Brigade but that mainly played an infantry role throughout the war.

Less than a month after joining the RCD, Arthur’s life was tragically cut short.

On October 10, 1918, he is simply reported as “killed in action.” This is one month and a day short of the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918 that ended the First World War.

A few more details about Arthur’s death is provided by another military record, the Circumstances of Death Registers, First World War, which the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF) used to report the cause of a soldier’s death, where and when it occurred, and the soldier’s final resting place.

The entry for Private Arthur Carriere indicates that on October 10, 1918 “while acting as a medical orderly at Brigade Headquarters in Troisvilles, he was killed by an enemy shell.” The location of his final resting place is given as Grave 8, Plot 11, Row C in the Highland British Cemetery, recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Register as being one mile south of Le Coteau, France.

Arthur’s story does not end simply with his death. The medals he garnered, such as the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, indicated by crossed-out capital letters “B” and “V” on the medal card along with the Memorial Cross, Scroll and Plaque, were dutifully given by a grateful nation to his mother in mourning.

The Franco-Manitoban Metis community of St. Norbert also felt the loss of Arthur’s death.

Shortly after the end of war, they erected the St. Norbert War Memorial in recognition of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Arthur and 12 other local residents."

Source: https://thediscoverblog.com/tag/national-metis-veterans-memorial-monument/

05/11/2024

Metis Time Capsule.

It was a Great Privilege and Honor to chat with a good friend Noeline about her father, Metis Hero, Archie Villebrun, Awarded the US Medal of Freedom.

The amazing true story of Metis man, Archie Villebrun, his heroism and unselfish act to save four people.

Archie Villebrun was awarded the US Medal of Freedom on August 31, 1943.

The US Medal of Freedom was established in July of 1945 under an Executive Order. This Medal of Freedom was awarded to persons who performed a meritorious act or service during the 2nd World War.

Thank you to all our supporters of Metis Time Capsule, we appreciate you.Today we have an amazing true story of a Metis hero, Archie Villebrun, who was award...

05/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8.

"Henry Norwest, was a Metis marksman who was a celebrated sniper during the First World War.

Before he took to the battlefields in France and was among the thousands of Canadians who fought at Vimy Ridge in April 1917, Norwest was a married father of three who frequently moved around to find work.

Of French and Cree ancestry, he was a ranch hand and a roper who helped to wrangle bison in Montana in an effort to move herds north to Canada.

He listed his trade as "Cow Puncher" when he signed up to be part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in January 1915.

With war underway in Europe, he eagerly enlisted in Wetaskiwin, Alta., under the name Henry Louie, but his initial military stint was short-lived. Records from the time show that he was discharged three months later because of what was then referred to as "drunkenness."

Still determined to fight overseas, he headed south to Calgary and enlisted again, this time under the name Henry Norwest.

Before he left for England, he went to say goodbye to his three girls, who at the time were living in a residential school in Ermineskin, Alta.

Starting out earning a monthly wage of $15, Norwest quickly established himself as a skilled sniper while fighting in France with Calgary's 50th Battalion.

During the war, First Nation soldiers were among Canada's top snipers, and Norwest's upbringing and experience as a hunter were evident, says Al Judson, curator of the King's Own Calgary Regiment Museum, where one of Norwest's rifles is on display.

"He could move well, quietly with stealth," says Judson.

"He could use camouflage and the natural foliage around him to hide."

In military records, he is described by a fellow soldier as understanding "better than most of the us the cost of life and the price of death."

"He showed complete detachment from everything while he was in the line."

On April 9, 1917, under a barrage of heavy fire, Norwest was among the thousands of Canadian troops who made the deadly push to capture Vimy Ridge.

Norwest was awarded a Military Medal for his efforts to help allied forces capture "the Pimple," a significant point along the ridge.

In his award citation, officials said he showed great bravery and "saved a great number of our men's lives."

In the three months leading up the to the battle, he shot and killed 59 men from opposing forces.

In August of the following year, he fought during the battle of Amiens, taking out snipers and machine gunners.

But just three months before the First World War ended, Norwest himself became the target of a German sharpshooter and the 33-year-old was shot and killed.

On his temporary grave marker, one of his fellow soldiers wrote: "It must have been a damned good sniper that got Norwest."

At the time of his death, he had 115 confirmed kills, but the actual number of fatal shots he fired could be much higher because the military only recorded hits that had been observed by someone else. He was awarded a military bar posthumously to go along with his medal.

After the war, his remains were reinterred in a small church graveyard in Warvillers, France. In 2009, his great-granddaughter made an emotional visit to the site, where she performed a sacred Cree ceremony.

Before he was killed in France, his wife died in Alberta, so his three daughters were left as orphans and spent most of their childhoods at residential school.

Source: Briar Stewart · CBC News · Apr 04, 2017

05/11/2024

National Indigenous Veterans Day- November 8.

Charles "Checker" Tomkins was a Metis / Cree Code Talker in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II:

Background:

Born in Grouard, Alberta in 1918, Tomkins was a fluent speaker of Cree. He joined the military in 1940 and was selected to participate in a secret operation to code messages for the Air Force.

Role:

Tomkins translated secret military messages from English into Cree to disguise their content from enemies. He was tasked with coding messages for bombing runs and air missions.

Recognition:

Tomkins was awarded the Defence Medal, the 1939–1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, and the War Medal 1939–1945.

Legacy:

Tomkins is considered one of the most famous Canadian code talkers. He was the subject of the 2016 documentary Cree Code Talker.

The role of Cree code talkers was not well-known and went unacknowledged by the Canadian government for many years due to oaths of secrecy and official classification.

Code talkers were so top secret, their own families didn’t know what they were doing! Checker didn’t tell anyone (including his brothers) until an interview about it at the age of 85.

Here is some more Additional information:

"The story of Cree code talkers serving in the Second World War, like Charles Marvin Tomkins, is mostly unknown.

In August 1942, the United States and Canadian military began recruiting a select group of Cree-speaking Indigenous soldiers from those already stationed in England. They would go on to form a unit tasked with developing a coded system based on the Cree language for disguising vital military information. .

Code talkers translated the messages into Cree before they were transmitted, and another code talker translated them back into English for use by local commanders. Charles was assigned to the American 8th Air Force, where he passed on information about air operations. Since many military terms did not exist in Cree, the code-talkers had to use pre-existing words in new ways. For example, iskotew (fire) was word used for the Spitfire fighter.

While Cree code talkers were instrumental in protecting Allied forces, thus helping to win the war, they were sworn to secrecy and documentation about their efforts is sparse in Canada. As such, many of them remain unidentified.

In Charles Tomkins’ case, he returned to Canada after the war and struggled to find work. He re-enlisted, serving for another 25 years, and went on to become a corporal. His family only learned about his work as a code talker two months before he died at the age of 85. In 2016, two Indigenous filmmakers brought his story to public attention for the first time in Canada in their short documentary “Cree Code Talker.”

Source of Additional Information: Canadian Armed Forces.

05/11/2024

Metis History Tidbit.

Red River Cart. Sketch by William George Richardson. June 1862.

Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1963-97-1.3R:B