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Indigenous Veterans Day commemorated at CFB Shilo

November 11, 2025

Cpl Maxime Proulx at 2018 Ex Heavy Loader Competition

Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News

K-J Millar
Shilo Stag Media

Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, civilian staff, and members of the public commemorated Indigenous Veterans Day at CFB Shilo on Nov. 7.

With the nationally recognized occasion being commemorated on Nov. 8, which this year fell on a Saturday, it was important for military personnel to share the message with as many people as possible during a weekday.

The observance of National Aboriginal Veterans Day, later renamed Indigenous Veterans Day, was initiated in Winnipeg on November 8, 1994, said Andrea Bourgeault, acting civilian co-chair of the Defence Indigenous Advisory Group (DIAG) at CFB Shilo.

The commemorations have since grown nationwide with approximately 23,000 Indigenous Veterans and more than 2,700 Indigenous members currently serving in the CAF.

Thousands of Indigenous Veterans served in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War, with many Indigenous communities contributing to the war effort in other ways.

However, despite their service and sacrifice, Indigenous Veterans faced repeated injustices and discrimination, Bourgeault said.

During this era, the Government of Canada expropriated hundreds of thousands of acres of reserve land. Some of this land was given to non-Indigenous Veterans through a re-establishment program that was typically denied to Indigenous Veterans.

“Many were also denied access to the full benefits and supports provided to other Veterans, making their return to civilian life even more difficult. In some cases, Veterans had to give up their First Nations status to receive benefits,” she said during her address to the crowd at the ceremonies.”

Bourgeault said that decades of advocacy and activism led to a formal apology from the federal government in 2002, along with compensation for First Nations Veterans. In 2019, Métis Veterans also received an apology and a commitment to compensation, acknowledging that they, too, were denied equal benefits and reintegration support after the war.

The Manitoba Government recognized the significance of the day by passing Bill 210, the Indigenous Veterans Day Act, earlier in the week and making Indigenous Veterans Day a legislated day of observance in the province.