Honouring Indigenous veterans with grave markers

Indigenous soldiers who are buried in the Netherlands recently received a special headstone to commemorate their sacrifice.

The Indigenous Legacy Project helps to identify and mark the graves of Indigenous soldiers who have been laid to rest in cemeteries across the Netherlands.

Retired Warrant Officer Glenn Miller from Lethbridge took part in the ceremony and said it was incredible to chat with the families of the Indigenous soldiers.

“It was very moving for me. Very- it was a sacred ceremony. We had a sharing circle in the morning, and it started to rain. And as the family members were talking about their own individual members, one of the family members referred to those as tears of joy. The delegation was there. And so that was very powerful, the elders, very emotional for them to be able to connect with so many families across Canada and for the Liberation of the Netherlands branch they’re honored to be able to have that come to fruition from their idea. How do we recognize, halfway around the world, the Indigenous veterans that helped to liberate the Netherlands? So through the full support of Veterans Affairs and partnering with the Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones, it was a great fit. And the Deputy Minister had committed to another trip sometime in the future, so we only hope to make this as a good model for future endeavors.”

Miller says as part of the Last Post Fund Indigenous Veterans Initiative the group has marked over three hundred graves across Canada.