The Struggle for Native Recognition

When war broke out over hundred years ago, in 1914 men from among the Native populations in Canada were not welcome to join the Army and in fact the Canadian government stopped Natives from signing up. Nonetheless, and thankfully for Canada and the Allied war effort, according to War History Online, the best sniper of #WW1  was Francis Pegahmagabow, who was a Canadian First Nation hero of the war, and most decorated, one of only 39 soldiers (from the 600,000 who served) to be awarded the Canadian Military Medal and two bars for valour.

He signed up at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, joining the 23rd Northern Pioneers and actually survived the war, and was laid to rest in an old cemetery on Wasauksing First Nation in 1952.

Shortly after his arrival in Europe, Pegahmagabow saw action during the Second Battle of Ypres, where the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front, and it was during this battle that he began to establish a reputation as a sniper and scout. Later, when his battalion took part in the Battle of the Somme, Pegahmagabow was wounded in the left leg.

He recovered in time, however, to return to the 1st Battalion as they moved to Belgium. Over the course of their next two battles which spanned almost a year, Pegahmagabow carried messages along the lines, and it was for these efforts that he received the Military Medal. Initially, his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Albert Creighton, had nominated him for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, citing the disregard he showed for danger and his “faithfulness to duty,” however, it was later downgraded.

On November 6/7, 1917, Pegahmagabow earned a Bar to his Military Medal for his actions in the Second Battle of Passchendaele. During the fighting, Pegahmagabow’s battalion was given the task of launching an attack. By this time, he had been promoted to the rank of corporal and during the battle he was recorded playing an important role as a link between the units on the 1st Battalion’s flank. When the battalion’s reinforcements became lost, Pegahmagabow was instrumental in guiding them to where they needed to go and ensuring that they reached their allocated spot in the line.

Later in the war, on 30 August 1918, during the Battle of the Scarpe, Pegahmagabow was involved in defending a German attack at Orix Trench, near Upton Wood. His company was almost out of ammunition and in danger of being surrounded. In an effort to prevent a disaster, he took it upon himself to bring up the necessary supplies. Braving heavy machine gun and rifle fire he went out into no man’s land and brought back enough ammunition to enable his post to carry on and assist in repulsing heavy enemy counter-attacks. For these efforts, he received a second Bar to his Military Medal.

In November 1918, the war came to an end and in 1919 Pegahmagabow was invalided back to Canada. He had served in the military for almost the whole war and had built up a reputation as a skilled marksman. Using the much-maligned Ross rifle, he was credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more.