Metis veterans to be honoured at Juno Beach
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | 12:51 PM ET
CBC News
A monument to Métis soldiers who fought during the two world wars will be erected at the Juno Beach museum in France on Wednesday, as a part of Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl will join a large Métis delegation taking part in the ceremony, which includes a historical exhibit and a Red River cart — the symbol of the Métis Nation in Canada.
"We'll be unveiling a Red River cart here that will be forever in the Juno Beach memorial in order to forever remember the contributions of the Métis as well as, of course, all the other veterans that are honoured here with them," Strahl said from France.
Strahl said when the call went out during the Second World War for people to join up, entire Métis communities volunteered.
"Some of them walked for hours and days, they say, in order to join up in the Second World War. So they're real fighters [for] freedom and it's a real tribute and honour for me, of course, to be here to pay tribute to them."
Robert Bruce, 87, who was in the second wave of soldiers to get off the boats in Normandy during the Second World War, said he's returning to see his culture honoured on the site where many of his comrades were killed.
For Métis veterans, this is the first official recognition they've ever received for their service.
"I didn't know what the hell a half-breed was. I always thought I was as good as anybody else. I always thought everyone was equal, but then I realized they weren't," Bruce said.
Métis veterans said they were denied postwar benefits such as financial help for housing, land and education.
They said they were left out again in 2002 when status-Indian veterans were offered $20,000 each for benefits they had previously been denied.
Strahl said that a process is underway and that the government has set up a website so Métis veterans can register and apply for compensation.
