TORONTO -- As Canada celebrates Remembrance Day, many are taking the time to acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous veterans, sharing their stories of courage and nationhood.
According to Veteran Affairs Canada, it’s estimated that as many as 12,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis people served in the great conflicts of the 20th century, with at least 500 recorded deaths.
Ike Isaacs is an Indigenous veteran who joined the Canadian military in the 1950s. He has earned several medals during his service, including for service in Europe as well as in Egypt.
"In '62 when I went to Egypt, we were peacekeepers between Egypt and Israel,” he told CTV News. “We patrolled the border between Egypt and Israel by the Gaza strip."
But when he attends veteran events, he doesn’t just wear his military medals proudly. He also wears a beaded yellow tie around his neck that bears the symbol of the Six Nations Veteran Association.
“That was made here on the reserve, by one of the ladies on the reserve,” he said. “This is our tie we wear whenever we have anything going on with the veterans.”
Isaac’s first name is actually Welby, but he goes by “Ike” -- a nickname based on his last name that he received during his service.
“I got the name Ike the very first night I arrived in camp,” Isaacs said. “The corporeal introduced the new recruits coming in. ‘New man on the block,’ he says, ‘His name is Isaacs.’ Guy in the back hollered, ‘How you doing, Ike?’ And that’s been it.
“That name stuck with me.”
Isaacs was only 17 when he joined the military, signing up in London, Ont., around the end of the Cold War. Part of his decision was down to a lack of opportunities at home -- he was an orphan, he said.
“My grandmother raised me until she passed away when I was fourteen,” Isaacs said. “So I lived house to house, basically, till I was seventeen.
“The last place I lived at was with my cousin. He couldn’t afford to keep me, couldn’t afford to send me to school, so I talked him into signing my guardian papers for joining the military.”
Although the decision may have had its seed in struggle, Isaacs said he loved his time in the forces. The military opened up the world to him, he explained.
"Going in at the age of 17, you grow up very quickly, and you get to see the world very fast,” he said. “Coming from the reservation like this, you never got to go nowhere. Then all of a sudden, you’re travelling.”
Before Isaacs was even born, thousands of Indigenous people had served in the Canadian forces in the First World War. According the Veteran Affairs Canada, the volunteer response from Indigenous communities was huge, with as many as one in three able-bodied men volunteering in some areas.
In the Second World War, more than 3,000 First Nations members, Metis and Inuit recruits had served by the end of the war, Veteran Affairs Canada says on their website.
Many Indigenous soldiers also filled a unique role during the Second World War, as “code talkers” -- sending messages to each other in Cree so they could not be understood by enemies who might intercept the transmission.
All of this was before all Indigenous people were even afforded the right to vote in Canada, which didn’t become official until 1960, four years after Isaacs enlisted.
Many Indigenous veterans of the Second World War, who had received the right to vote in federal elections while in the military, returned home demanding change, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Isaacs said that during his service, he felt they were all equal. He keeps in contact with the men who served with him “to this day,” he said.
Indigenous service members are still an important part of Canadian forces today. There are some 3,000 Indigenous members in the military, and the number of women serving is on the rise.
Jessica Miller is one of those women, and, like Isaacs, spoke highly of the opportunity to see more of the world. She said a tour at sea on HMCS Vancouver was a career highlight.
"The ships went all over the Pacific Ocean, from Hawaii, to Guam, Australia, New Zealand,” she told CTV News. “I went to a little island called Tonga, in the Samoan Islands.”
Miller works as a naval communicator.
"I would say one of my most favourite experiences was sending a Morse code message to the Japanese,” she said.
She’s been a member of the Canadian forces for 23 years, and said she would like to see more women join.
"I would say there was approximately 30-40 ladies out of a ship of 240 personnel,” she said. “So we've always been a minority.”
As Isaacs and Miller celebrate Remembrance Day, they’re also hoping to inspire future generations to carry on a proud legacy and tradition of service.