Book review: Warriors & Nations: Voices from the Original Peoples
Reviewed by Karl Hele
Jean Miso’s Warriors & Nations: Voices from the Original Peoples is a powerful collection of stories from Indigenous veterans across Canada ranging from World War I to the current day. Internally, the book is arranged by province and nation. Rather than attempt to cover all stories from every veteran across Canada, Miso selectively included narratives that serve to illustrate Indigenous nationhood and survivance, as well as the negative and positive outcomes of service as representative of the general Indigenous experience.
For instance, Ontario is represented by men from Six Nations, such as Tom Longboat, Jonathan Davey, and Oliver Milton Martin, as well from Wasauksing First Nation, such as Francis Pegahmagabow and the Ten Eyck brothers. Importantly, Miso shows that military service, both historic and contemporary, is an important element for First Nations peoples. Each veteran’s story speaks of childhood and family experience prior to enlisting, why they enlisted, their experience as a soldier and afterwards. Particularly profound, for me, were the narratives of Indigenous soldiers who enlisted during World War I – many men never returned, died young, or were forever altered by their experiences. Yet, the First World War veterans and all who served in the Canadian Armed Forces after them, worked for the advancement of their families, communities, nations, and Indigenous people upon returning home. By interviewing families and veterans, Miso has created a compelling collection of what it means to have served.
The key to the work’s power is that with minimal or no editing, Miso allowed people to generally tell their own stories. There are instances where she has provided contextual information to supplement or support first-person narratives but the stories take centre stage. Miso also provides brief biographies of the people who helped her with the stories – such as relatives and community Knowledge Keepers – as well as documented sources used. This unique style of referencing further ties soldiers, family, and community to each story ably showing the pride, strength, and love for the veterans, as well as the importance of these narratives. Finally, by providing select examples of history and contemporary veterans from each province and a sample Indigenous Nations, Miso leaves room for others to tell the stories of their veterans.
Miso has crafted a volume that will hopefully inspire both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers to learn more about Indigenous veterans and their contributions to Canada. It may even inspire some to enlist, thereby adding to the proud tradition within communities of service to others, to community, and to both their Nation and Canada.
Overall, I recommend this book for readers of any age seeking to learn about Indigenous veterans from the ‘voices of the original people.’ It would also make a great addition to highschool, college, university, and public libraries. Warriors & Nations is a marvellous work telling important stories from the perspectives of and with the words of Indigenous veterans from across Canada. It is a must-read book for anyone interested in Canada’s military history and the dedicated service of Indigenous peoples within its Armed Forces.
Jean Miso. Warriors & Nations: Voices from the Original Peoples. Toronto: JB Printing Ltd., 2023.