Allan and Ethel Manuel (Image Credit: Carryl Coles)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

INDIGENOUS VETERANS

Expansion of family research project honours Secwépemc veterans

Oct 18, 2019 | 5:04 PM

CHASE, BC — Of the approximately 650,000 Canadians who served in World War I, about 4,000 of them were Indigenous. And when 1 million Canadians fought for their country in World War II, over 3,000 Indigenous soldiers joined them.

Carryl Coles, a member of the Neskonlith band, has taken her interest in finding out about her own family’s wartime service and created an educational Facebook group, called Honouring Secwepemc Veterans.

“I’ve done a lot of research on finding out who the veterans were from each band, and finding out names and stuff,” Coles explains. “A lot of people don’t know about how many of our people went, and I think that should be acknowledged.”

At a time when Indigenous people weren’t even allowed to vote, Coles says her grandfather, James Daniel Manuel, stepped forward alongside 200 other Secwépemc people to serve in the war.

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“Apparently, Canada-wide, one in three native people signed up for the war,” she explains.

Coles’ grandfather returned to service again during World War II in the home guard, while her uncle, Al Manuel, and aunt, Ethel Weins, served overseas. Al returned home, and Coles says they went on to lead full lives.

“My uncle sent letters back to my Granny all the time,” she recalls. “I remember one that she talked about where he was talking about looking at the Mediterranean Sea and writing about how blue it was.”

When James Manuel returned from World War I, Indigenous people could not vote, and weren’t allowed to be in places alcohol was served. Including the Legion.

“But with the Chase Legion here, even though my grandfather wasn’t a member here, he was included in everything.”

Paul Lamoureux, Chase Legion Branch President, says the discriminatory rules have now caught up with the inclusive mindset former legion members held and passed on to current members. He says the Legion now welcomes everyone.

“They were part of this country,” Lamoureux says. “They were willing to go over there and sacrifice their lives, and they shouldn’t have had to fight for anything when they got back. It should have been given to them. And I firmly believe that.”

Since creating the Facebook page, the Indigenous Veterans Initiative contacted Coles to help them replace and find grave markers for veterans who don’t have them. In Chase, Lamoureux says Coles’ involvement with the legion has given members a wealth of information and history.

“I have read some of the history, and it’s quite elaborate — if people knew it all.”

Ahead of this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, Coles will continue her work to show what kind of impact Indigenous people had on the ideals, rights, and freedoms Canada fought for so many years ago.

*Note: the rest of this story will be told on November 11, as part of CFJC TV’s Remembrance Day program: We Stand on Guard.