Indians of the Prairie Provinces in World War I

Date
1987
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Abstract
In the First Wo??ld War between 3,500 and 4,000 Canadian Indians served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, many of them in front-line combat positions overseas. They enlisted from the onset of hostilities. By the end of the war 35 percent of Canada's natives had enlisted out of a possible total of 11,500 men who were eligible for service. This was at least equal to the ratio of the non-Indian population in Canada. This thesis examines the contribution Western Canadian Indians made to the war effort. It reviews,the Indian's cultural background, emphasising the survival of the warrior ethic thro ugh the early reservation period to the outbreak of World War One. This ethic, combined with a loyalty to the British Crown and a desire to escape the stagnant reserve life, led Western Canadian Indians to enlist. The thesis further examines the actual experiences of native so ldiers in enlistment, training, and overseas service. In the post-war period the returning Indian veterans expected an improvement in their status in Western Canada, but evidence indicates that their situation remained unchanged.
Description
Bibliography: p. 182-214.
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Citation
Dempsey, L. J. (1987). Indians of the Prairie Provinces in World War I (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/13815
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