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Originally Posted by Walleyes
Many white veterans were not recognised either. The issue lies more in where they returned to rather than who they were. Many natives returned to isolated communities out of touch and or reach of main stream society. As did many white soldier's the big difference is is that the communities recognised their soldiers on their own for many years it was the towns and the communities that held a high status of their veterans if the native communities failed to recognise their veterans well I guess that is an issue they should deal with how is that a government issue ??? Our communities made clubs and groups on their own ( Legion Halls ) what did the natives create for their veterans ?? How and why is it always up to someone else to help them. I come from a community with a very high native population and in the local Legion there were many metis veterans any of them that wanted to be part of it were,, those that chose to live out their lives in seclusion did so as did many white veterans and dealt with their issues on their own. Many, many a veteran in this country dealt with their demons not just the natives it just seems worse for the natives because once again its a crutch that they use to extort more attention. This poor poor us routine is getting old already.. When are these communities going to take responsibility for themselves and quit blaming everyone else...
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Here are a few facts for your arguments.
-Native veterans couldn't form their own legions because of the Liquor prohibition of the Indian act, nor could they go to a legion and have a beer with their fellow veterans as it was illegal.
-Many veterans that returned had no choice but to return to their isolated communities as racism was still alive and well back then and many of them had a hard time finding jobs.
-1943, the government declared that, as British subjects, all able Indian men of military age could be called up for training and service in Canada or overseas yet they weren't even able to vote until after 1956.
-Department of Veterans Affairs, excluded Indian veterans and their families from many of the war and post-war programs that they offered. Indian veterans were considered to be wards of the government and therefore not the responsibility of Veterans Affairs.
- many of the Aboriginal veterans that had given up their Native status and the cultural and financial benefits that went along with it, didn't qualify for the many distinctions given to White veterans, such as education, pensions and affordable housing on their return home.
-After the Second World War, Canadian veterans were given financial help to buy houses and land and upgrade their education. According to a report prepared for a Métis veterans association, only eight per cent of Métis veterans reported receiving any benefits and fewer than one per cent received land under the Veterans Land Act.
-In 2002, status-Indian veterans were offered $20,000 each in compensation for benefits they were denied.
"The Métis veterans got left out," "There were two lines. In the Canadian line, they'd say, 'You're native -- go to the native line.
In the "native line" they were also rejected. "They'd say, 'You're not Indian.'
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Originally Posted by S.A.S
The Indians gave up their status, eh? So does that mean they would just be recognized as your everyday Joe Canadian........Terrible eh..
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Terrible eh? that they weren't recognized as the everyday Joe once they got home.
People should google many of this stuff, there is a ton of information out there. It might help with understanding a little about what the Natives had to go through before we start beaking off about equality.