Vets memories full of pain

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Remembrance Day is a day of pain and confusion for many veterans but especially so for many of the Native Canadians who fought in the World Wars.

The First World War saw a minimum of 4,000 Native veterans fighting with the allies and during the Second World War there were more than 3,000 Native veterans.

For the men and women who saw duty, it was an experience that they will remember all of their lives.

In those days Native people were considered wards of the government and were never considered real Canadians. Passes were needed to venture off reserve and Indian agents controlled every aspect of reserve life.

Why did so many Native people volunteer for service in a war that they had no part of? Because as of then and even now, Native people understand that this land is worth fighting for and even sacrificing your life for.

For many of the veterans their Native languages were their first languages and many had a maximum grade six education because of residential school programs which only taught up to that level and no higher.

For some Native veterans the pain of war was compounded by the unfair treatment after they returned home form the war. A Native veteran from a northern Alberta reserve called Driftpile who served in the Second World War was surprised to learn that because of his joining the service he lost his Indian status.

He also returned disabled by the loss of one of his legs during his tour of duty in France. The Indian agent of the day arrived with the local RCMP and kicked him off reserve. The Native veteran had a ranch that he had built up for himself and livestock that he had no legal recourse to claim.

In those days Native people couldn't vote in federal elections and so they had no one to voice their concerns in the House of Parliament. Native people received their right to vote in 1960 long after the damage had been done.

Native people have always felt that the laws of Canada are not out laws and that only confirmed those feelings.

A Native veteran from the interior of B.C. felt that he never got the same treatment as other veterans returning from the Second World War in regards to the Veteran's Land Act. The act for the most part set aside land for veterans that they could purchase at a reduced cost and receive assorted grants for farm equipment.

There was a sunset clause with the VLA and it expired in 1975 so most Native veterans who wished to take part in the program had to have their applications in prior to that date. However, most Native veterans weren't aware of the program and officials from Veterans Affairs say that a lot of veterans didn't know about the program.

The same veteran says he was insulted and treated as a second class citizen upon returning to Canada. He still has anxiety attacks from his experiences during the war.

"....my wife won't even sleep with me because I still have nightmares from this, what I went through. Not what do I have to do to get out of this? Today I am talking about, tonight I will probably get one of the worst I have ever had. It seems every time I talk about what I went through I get these awful nightmares. I will tell you guys, it wasn't ever easy to eat, to sleep with dead people and the odors that were there...I often wondered why did I go?"