Tk'emlups Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir reflecting at the cenotaph within Tk'emlups Pen Pen / cemetery. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

INDIGENOUS VETERANS DAY

Tk’emlúps encourages community reflection while observing Indigenous Veterans Day

Nov 8, 2021 | 4:26 PM

TK’EMLUPS — Indigenous Veterans Day is observed every year on November 8 to commemorate the thousands of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people who served in past and current conflicts.

Locally, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS) encouraged the community to reflect on the sacrifices made during war times and the battles many Indigenous people faced when they returned home.

“Some of those suffrages included things like not receiving the same benefits as regular Canadians who came back from war,” notes TteS Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir. “And those who came back to the First Nation communities, they were no longer considered First Nations of their communities. They were stripped of their status, they were disenfranchised.”

Many Secwépemc people served in World War I and II, and in the Korean war, with dozens of individuals coming from Tk’emlúps.

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“We had 34 of our band members who served, and three who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Chief Casimir also acknowledged living members who have served, or are currently serving — including Isha Jules, Angelina Christina Campbell and Madison Marisa Jules-George.