An initiative involving Canadian, Indigenous and Dutch individuals is helping identify and mark the graves of Indigenous soldiers buried in the Netherlands.
The Indigenous Legacy Project recently saw Veterans Affairs send over a delegation of family and community members of the buried soldiers to the Netherlands, where they helped the Liberation of the Netherlands Branch 005 honour the soldiers’ sacrifices.
Initially, 17 graves were researched at Holten Canadian War Cemetery, but Veterans Affairs Canada was only able to identify the community members of 13 soldiers to participate in the delegation.
A full list of the Indigenous soldiers identified in the Netherlands can be found on the Government of Canada website.
Glenn Miller, the Alberta president for the Last Post Fund, was also part of the delegation, as the Aboriginal Veterans Autochones (AVA) suggested his attendance as an ally.
Miller, a Lethbridge resident, said the ceremony was incredibly moving and meaningful.
“It’s 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 that the delegation was there and that was very powerful,” said Miller.
“The elders, it was very emotional for them to be able to connect with so many families across Canada.”
The Last Post Fund recently started an Indigenous Veterans Initiative to identify unmarked graves with the assistance of local Indigenous researchers.
Glenn shares that trips like this help raise awareness of the work they’ve already done, which includes marking and identifying more than 300 graves across Canada.
“This work primarily through the Last Post Fund, started off as our own organization’s Truth and Reconciliation efforts, where qualified veterans can get a marker with an Indigenous name on it,” said Miller.
“Some of our stones way back when, when we installed, we now go back to the families to track them down if there was a traditional name that we can engrave into the stone.”
The trip to the Netherlands is anticipated to be the first of many, as the group looks towards future endeavors across the pond, honouring and recognizing Indigenous soldiers.
Glenn adds that families who have Indigenous family members buried in the Netherlands, or anywhere in Europe, can come forward as they’re unable to tell who’s Indigenous just by looking at a name plate.
“I worked locally with a Metis fellow, and we were talking about this project as I was going over in the Spring, and he has a relative in Groesbeek Cemetery. So, I put some sweet grass that he provided on his grave,” shared Glenn. “That’s just one example that we would not have otherwise known that’s an Indigenous veteran buried in the Netherlands.”