Absolutely.
As I alluded to in my presentation, the numbers are elusive. There were indigenous people serving alongside colonial forces in the Seven Years' War and the War of 1812. Indigenous people went to the Nile Expedition. There was a precedent long before the First World War. That was a motivation for a lot of indigenous people to enlist. They saw it as part of their relationship with the Crown through elements such as treaties and previous military alliances. Even the Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognizes first nations' sovereign status.
I think Veterans Affairs, at this point, estimates that about 12,000 indigenous people have served in 20th century conflicts. Again, due to lack of recognition of Métis people's indigeneity, for example, I don't know that we'll ever have real numbers to suggest how many people served in conflicts. In fact, I read the account of a Second World War veteran who talked about his Métis nationhood not being recognized when he enlisted. They said, “Well, what part European are you? What type of European are you?” He said, “French”, so they wrote “French” on his paper. They said there was no such thing as Métis. That was a real frustration for him, and he talked about that when he was a veteran.
These are historical issues I'm speaking about, but they're real issues, yes.