Toronto marks Indigenous Veterans Day with plaque unveiling at city hall

The City of Toronto is honouring the military sacrifices, past and present, of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples to mark National Indigenous Veterans Day.

Mayor Olivia Chow led Wednesday’s proceedings at city hall, which began with a sacred fire ceremony on the roof and ended with the presentation of two plaques in the rotunda to honour Toronto’s Indigenous veterans and current service members.

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“It’s an honour to come together in a circle with the fire there showing a passion and a remembrance to those that gave their lives…and yet, for so many generations, forgotten. Taken for granted,” Chow said.

The first plaque pays tribute to the Defence Indigenous Advisory Group (DIAG), which represents more than 3,000 Indigenous members of Canada’s military. The second recognizes the contributions of all Indigenous Peoples who defended present-day Toronto in the Battle of York in 1813.

Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation was present at Wednesday’s ceremony and said Toronto’s recognition of Indigenous military contributions is bittersweet.

“I’m torn. I mean, I love the remembrance of this history, paying tribute to our ancestors and all those who were involved today. But you look around, under all this strife and conflict. It’s a mixture of pride, sadness and, I don’t know, hope for the future,” he said.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged the sacrifice of Indigenous veterans, who he said have contributed to Canada’s domestic and international efforts for “over 200 years.”

“They joined with British forces in the War of 1812, and thousands of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis soldiers served in pursuit of a better world during the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the Gulf War,” Trudeau’s statement read in part.

Liz Brooke Hammond was at Wednesday's ceremony and said her father, Leonard, served in the Korean War when he was just 17 years old. She said her father enlisted in the Canadian military to escape a residential school in Nova Scotia.

Indigenous Veterans Day is marked at Toronto city hall on Nov. 8, 2023. (X/City of Toronto)

“He thought it was better to go to war than it was to go to school at that time,” she said.

Indigenous Veterans Day was also recognized during a council meeting on Wednesday. City staff said The Francis Pegahmagabow Eagle Staff, representing Indigenous members of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, was present at the commemoration.