It has been a weekend of remembering the Indigenous veterans in Winnipeg. The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) held its fifth annual Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony at Royal Canadian Legion #9 on 920 Nairn Ave on Sunday. The location was chosen to honour the 100th anniversary of the Legion. “Indigenous Veterans Day is a day when we take pause to remember all that was sacrificed in the name of freedom,” said Shawn Nault, MMF’s minister responsible for Red River Métis veterans. The ceremony was honoured with the presence of Robert Chapman, a Métis World War II veteran. “Veteran Chapman is an example to all of us, to what it means to be a Red River Métis veteran through his integrity, passion and his heart,” Nault said. While also remembering the major world wars in the 20th century, he added the risk uniformed members take every day to maintain preparedness—case in point, the CFB Wainwright incident. “On Oct. 17, 2026, Canada was reminded of the dangers of service the personnels face as they commit themselves to our safety … our country mourns these four young service members and prays for the recovery of those still in the hospital.” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew shared his visitation to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “Teenagers from Manitoba were the tip of the spear that pierced the Nazi war machine, defeated Hitler’s army in Europe and brought freedom around the world,” he said. “And there were Indigenous people a part of that. That is what you should be proud of as a young person.” He urged the youth in attendance to “never doubt (their) place as part of the red maple leaf,” because of the Indigenous war veterans’ sacrifices. “We owe it as the following generations to people like Mr. Chapman, to participate in the economy, in the democracy, to go out and vote every single time that we have the opportunity to cast our ballot because of how high that price was, that they paid for our admission to be a part of this country,” he said. Starting the Remembrance Week, Kinew said it is fitting to acknowledge Indigenous veterans who made “a particular sacrifice at a time when they didn’t have freedom in Canada. “That was only an imaginary idea for them here in Canada at the time and they still responded to the call of duty—that is bravery.” ‘Serving the Unseen’ The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) hosted its fourth annual SCO Veterans’ Summit on Saturday, with the theme of ‘Serving the Unseen.’ “We are going to be talking about topics that don’t normally get enough attention in the veteran’s sector, including soldier suicide, veteran homelessness, veteran mental health and just the lived experience of veteran family members,” said Justin Woodcock, SCO’s First Nations veterans program manager. The keynote speaker, an Afghanistan War veteran Dennis Mackenzie, shared a story about post-traumatic stress disorder and soldier suicide—filling the keynote with somber mourning. “I served eight years in the Canadian Armed Forces and I’ve lost friends to suicide, related to their service-related injuries,” Woodcock said. “Oftentimes, especially around this time of year around Remembrance Day, we talk a lot about the folks that we lost overseas to combat, but we don’t normally talk about the ones that we lose back at home after they put down their guns.” Woodcock’s message was clear: it’s one big family. “Whether they’re veterans currently serving or family members … always reach out for help and we’re all here in this together.” For the unhoused veterans, finding them is key – something SCO wants to address with a new initiative. “We recently launched an unhoused veteran initiative, where we go out into the encampments twice a week, looking for unhoused veterans and trying to connect them with Veterans Affairs Canada and other veteran-serving organizations.” Woodcock’s other focus is the Indigenous veterans in the north. “I feel like they’re isolated and many of them feel like they’re there, they’re left out – and I want to let them know, they’re not left out … I’ll be up there to help them if they need it. “If anyone reaches out to me, I’ll do whatever I can in my power to help them.” Bill 210 was passed last year to officially recognize Nov. 8 as the Indigenous Veterans Day in Manitoba.
