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Vol. 20, No. 1, Wednesday, November 13, 2024 www.LamontLeader.com
Indigenous, Metis, mark office in Lam Remembrance Day at Metis Crossing BY JOHN MATHER On a bright sunny day with the North Saskatchewan River gently flowing by in the background, indigenous veterans marked Aboriginal Veterans Day, Nov. 8 at Metis Crossing. The event was emceed by Metis vet-
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eran Bruce Gordon. Gordon, 78, served three years at CFB Borden in Ontario from 1956 to 1959, and as a Red Seal electrician ended up in Edmonton where he repaired American fighter jets that would later be sent to battle in
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ain! Lisa Wolfe, Provincial Secretary of Education, Training, Language and Veterans Affairs for the Lace Ste. Anne Metis District of the Otipemisiwak Metis Government places a wreath on the monument for the fallen Indigenous and Metis Veterans at Metis Crossing just across the North Saskatchewan River from Lamont County. Indigenous Veterans Remembrance Day was marked at Metis Crossing Nov. 8.
Vietnam. He also had an 18-year-career as a member of the Legion of Frontiersmen. “I’m a very proud to be Canadian, proud to be an Albertan and proud to be Metis,” he said. The event was organized for the third year in a row to be hosted at Metis Crossing, where a glass and stone monument etched with the names of those Indigenous and Mets veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice, The Otipemisiwak Metis Government plays a huge role in organizing the event and battling for the rights of Metis veterans in Alberta. Lisa Wolfe is the provincial secretary of Education, Training, Language, and Veterans Affairs for the Lac Ste. Anne Metis District. It is estimated 12,000 indigenous people, including Metis, served in the world wars and at least 500 lost their lives. She added there are currently about 3,000 indigenous people serving with Canadian forces. Knowledge keeper Lilyrose Meyers gave a prayer stating “this (Aboriginal Veterans Day) is what our brothers and sisters gave their lives for.” She said she had relatives who had served and she appreciated all their services. As the Metis National Anthem was played, a slide show of several Metis and Indigenous veterans who gave their lives for Canada were flashed on screens in the background. Shirley Pallister explained the Northeast Rebellion and the Battle of Batoche. The Battle of Batoche, she added, was the more important battle because
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“it was the first one where the Metis people fought side by side as a united group.” She read a proclamation from the Federal government proclaiming Aboriginal Veterans Day on Nov. 8. She spoke of the discrimination the indigenous veterans faced when they returned from service. A delegation of government officials and educators from Taiwan also attended the service and laid a wreath on behalf of the Taiwanese government.
Gordon Harris, MC of Aboriginal Veterans Day at Metis Crossing.