Aboriginal Peoples and World War II

Before reading Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, I guess I didn’t really understand just how big of a contribution Aboriginal Peoples had in World War I. I assumed that some had enlisted/ been drafted into the war, but I didn’t know to what extent. For that reason, I wanted to research the role of Aboriginal Peoples in World War II had what they contributed to the Canadian military in this horrific war.

With my research, I found this incredibly information website: http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/pub/boo-bro/abo-aut/chapter-chapitre-05-eng.asp. In it, I learned that Aboriginal Peoples were “among the casualties at Hong Kong and Dieppe, they fought in Italy and Sicily, served on convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic, and flew with bomber and fighter crews around the world. They landed with 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day, and fought through the campaigns in Normandy and Northwest Europe.” So, in essence, they largely contributed. Next, I wondered if they fought because they were drafted or because they felt the pull, the need to enlist, just as Elijah had felt (and then brought Xavier along).

For that, the same website clearly answered my questions. Many “joined out of patriotism and a desire to help stop the Germans: he wanted to ‘do his bit.’” Others joined because they wanted to prove to the Canadian that they were in fact loyal Canadians. They wanted to assimilate, and in so doing may have been losing their own identity as an Aboriginal person. They developed a sense of equality through their time in the war, and for many it was a right of passage into the Canadian culture.

One particular soldier by the name of  Private George McLean of Head of the Lake Aboriginal descent in the Okanagan was memorialized for his contributions in Vimy Ridge (a significant Canadian success in the War) for “‘captur[in]g 19 prisoners, and later, when attacked by five more prisoners who attempted to reach a machine-gun, he was able- although wounded-to dispose of them unaided, thus saving a large number of casualties.'” Through this, I think it is clear that Aboriginal Peoples held a huge role in the war, and today they are being recognized for it — unlike how much Elijah and Xavier were recognized for their efforts in WWI.

See more at: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/ravens-eye/okanagan-soldier-remembered-vimy-ridge#sthash.Nt0pIk9i.dpuf

Not everything was high and dandy in the military for Aboriginal Peoples though. Many First Nations Peoples were discriminated against in the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force because they were not “‘of pure European descent and of the white race’”. In many factions, Aboriginal peoples were not allowed to drink alcohol (as back home in Canada) and had to eat/mess at different times of the day than their European-descendant comrades.

Overall, it’s absolutely fascinating the role these people had in World War II. Ironically, they fought for oppressed people in Europe when they themselves had been oppressed by the Europeans back in their home land. Also in this same ironic sense, Aboriginal discrimination and prejudice became less prevalent in Canada as Japanese-Canadians were increasingly attacked (especially those on the West Coast). Both of these groups of people were social and political victims of Canadian politics and society. Both of these aspects highly connect to the novel Obasan by Joy Kogawa and Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. Both novels discuss being “different” or of different heritage/cultural backgrounds than that of the European-Canadian, something that was highly rampant in World War II for the Aboriginal peoples of Canada who fought for Canada.