Remembrance Day at the RBC Convention Centre

Winston Wuttunee, 83, closes his eyes and drums a Cree song.  

“No matter where you are, I still love you just the same,” He sang to thousands in the crowd at the RBC Convention Centre.

Wuttunee said he knew what it was like to live under an oppressor. He brought an Indigenous perspective to his role as a peacekeeper.

“My heart is full of pride and joy that I did what I did.” said Wuttunee to the crowd.

About 12,000 Indigenous soldiers fought in the wars of the 20th century, according to the First Nations Health Directors Association. In 1994, Canada recognized its first Indigenous Veterans Day, to honour those who dealt with racism when they came home. 

Soldiers and veterans were holding flags of different nations, the orchestra playing them out as they marched in unison out of the auditorium. 

James Brown, 62, let the crowd stream past him. He stayed behind, staring at the big white cross covered in poppies, remembering his friends that he’s recently lost to suicide. 

The Metis veteran chief warrant officer served in the military for 30 years. 

“I don’t talk about my military experience all that much,” said Brown. 

He said non-Indigenous soldiers would call him and the other Indigenous people “chief”.

“I tried not to take it personally,” said Brown. 

On Brown’s first deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004, he said he didn’t sleep for two weeks. When they first got there, every night they were either getting shot at or sending a soldier’s body home to their family. He noticed the racist remarks ended after that. 

“It didn’t matter too much out there,” said Brown. “You just look at that person as just a person who’s going to have my back one day.” 

Brown stopped going to Remembrance Day ceremonies for a few years because he felt bitter about how poorly the Canadian government treated veterans, particularly Indigenous veterans, coming home from Afghanistan.

When he started losing friends to suicide, He began going again. He goes to honour the good memories he made with them, and to honour his 30 years of service.