Francis Pegahmagabow

Francis Pegahmagabow, shortly after the First World War

Francis Pegahmagabow (March 9, 1891 , † August 5, 1952 ) was the highest honored First Nations soldier in Canadian military history. Among other things, he was awarded the military medal three times . Used as a sniper and scout in World War I , he is said to have killed 378 Germans and captured 300 others. Later in life, he served as the Wasauksing First Nation chief and councilor, and as an activist and leader in several First Nations organizations. He corresponded with and met other well-known Aborigines such as Fred Loft, Jules Sioui, Andrew Paull and John Tootoosis.

Early years of life

Francis Pegahmagabow was born on March 9, 1891, in what is now the Shawanaga First Nation Reservation in Nobel , Ontario . In Ojibwe it was called Binaaswi ("the wind that blows away"). His father Michael was raised by Noah Nebimanyquod after his parents died . Michael died of an unspecified serious illness in April 1891, and his mother, Mary Contin, returned to her homeland, Henvey Inlet First Nation , after contracting the same disease . Raised by Nebimanyquod, Francis was raised in Shawanaga , where he learned traditional skills such as hunting and fishing and practiced a mixture of Catholicism and Anishinabic spirituality.

In January 1912, Pegahmagabow received financial support for room and board to complete his education. That summer he worked for the Great Lakes Department of the Navy and Fisheries as a naval firefighter.

Military background

After the outbreak of World War I, Pegahmagabow volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force ( CEF ) in August 1914 , despite the discrimination against the Canadian government, which initially excluded minorities. He was transferred to the 23rd Canadian Regiment (Northern Pioneers). After joining the Canadian Army, he was stationed at Camp Valcartier . There he decorated his army tent with traditional symbols, including a deer, the symbol of his clan. In February 1915 he was shipped to Europe with the first contingent of Canadian troops - the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division. His comrades nicknamed him "Peggy".

Shortly after his arrival on the continent, Pegahmagabow fought in the Second Battle of Ypres , where the Germans first used chlorine gas on the Western Front . During this battle he began to build a reputation as a sniper and scout. After the battle, he was promoted to Lance Corporal . In 1916 his battalion took part in the Battle of the Somme , in which he was wounded in the left leg. He recovered in time to return to the 1st Battalion when it was moved to Belgium. He received the Military Medal for delivering messages during these two battles.

For his actions on 6./7. November 1917 in the Second Battle of Passchendaele Pegahmagabow received the first repeat bar ( bar ) for his military medal. During the fighting, the Pegahmagabow battalion was given the task of launching an attack on the village of Passendale . By this time he had been promoted to the rank of corporal , and the award statement stated that he played an important role as a link between the units on the flank of the 1st Battalion. When the battalion's reinforcements were lost, Pegahmagabov was instrumental in leading them and making sure they got their assigned place in the line.

On August 30, 1918, during the Battle of the Scarpe, Pegahmagabow was involved in the fight against a German attack on the Orix Trench near Upton Wood . His company was almost empty of ammunition and in danger of being surrounded. Pegahmagabow defied heavy machine guns and rifle fire as he went into no man's land , and brought enough ammunition for his post to continue fighting and help fend off severe enemy counter-attacks. For these efforts, he received a second bar for his military medal, making him one of only 39 Canadians in the CEF to receive this honor.

The war ended in November 1918 and in 1919 Pegahmagabow was dismissed as unfit for service and returned to Canada. He had served most of the war and built a reputation as a skilled sniper. He was credited with killing 378 Germans (with the much maligned Ross rifle ) and capturing 300 others. By the time he was released, he had reached the rank of Sergeant Major and received the 1914-15 Star , British War Medal and Victory Medal .

Political

Pegahmagabow in 1945

After returning to Canada, he continued to serve in the Algonquin Regiment Militia as a non-permanent active member. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he was elected chief of the Parry Island Band in February 1921 . A decade later, he was appointed a councilor from 1933 to 1936. In 1933 the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) changed its policy and forbade First Nations chiefs to correspond directly with the DIA. It ordered that all correspondence, starting in the spring of 1933, be handled through the Indian agent . This gave the agent tremendous power, something that weighed on Pegahmagabow, who was not getting on with his agent, John Daly. First Nation members who served in the army during World War I were particularly active as political activists. They had traveled the world, earned the respect of their comrades in the trenches, and refused to be pushed aside by the newly authorized Indian agent. Historian Paul Williams called these advocates "returned soldier chiefs" and mentioned Pegahmagabow among a few particularly bustling activists. His attitude led to violent disagreements with Daly and finally to the removal of Pegahmagabow as chief. Daly and other agents who came into contact with Pegahmagabow were extremely frustrated with his attempts (in his words) to "free his people from" white slavery "". The Indian agents called him a "mental case" (mentally disturbed) and tried to push him and his followers into the background.

In addition to the power struggle between the Indian Council and the DIA, in which Pegahmagabow was involved, he was also active as an agitator regarding the status of the islands in the Huron Sea in Georgian Bay . The local First Nations self-governments claimed the islands as their land, and Pegahmagabow and other chiefs tried unsuccessfully to have this status officially recognized.

During World War II, Pegahmagabow worked as a security guard at an ammunition factory near Nobel, Ontario, and was a sergeant major in the local militia. In 1943 he became chief of the Native Independent Government , an early First Nations organization.

Family and legacy

The married father of six, Pegahmagabow died in 1952 at the age of 61 on the Parry Island reservation. He is a member of the Indian Hall of Fame at the Woodland Center in Brantford , Ontario, and his memory is honored on a plaque honoring him and his regiment on the Rotary and Algonquin Regiment Fitness Trail in Parry Sound . He was honored by the Canadian Armed Forces by naming the main building of the 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group on CFB Borden after him.

The Canadian journalist Adrian Hayes wrote a two-part biography of Pegahmagabow, the first part entitled Pegahmagabow: Legendary Warrior, Forgotten Hero from 2003 and the second part entitled Pegahmagabow: Life-Long Warrior in 2009. The novel Three Day Road des Writer Joseph Boyden from 2005 was inspired in part by the life story of Pegahmagabow. The protagonist is a fictional person who, like Pegahmagabow, served as a sniper in World War I. Pegahmagabow himself appears as a supporting character.

A life-size bronze statue of Pegahmagabow was erected in Parry Sound near Georgia Bay in his honor on Aboriginal National Day, June 21, 2016. The figure has an eagle on one arm, a horse rifle that is carried by the shoulder, and a caribou at his feet, representing the Caribou clan, to which Pegahmagabow belonged. The eagle was his spirit animal. Artist Tyler Fauvelle worked on the statue for eight months. The watering took another year. Fauvelle chose to build it in Parry Sound rather than Wasauksing in order to reach a wider public and educate them about the contributions of Aboriginal Canadians.

Awards

• Military Medal & Two Bars
• 1914-15 star
• British War Medal
• Victory Medal (UK)

While researching his novel Three Day Road , the author Joseph Boyden was asked for his opinion on why Pegahmagabow had not received a higher distinction such as the Distinguished Conduct Medal or the Victoria Cross . Boyden speculated that it was because Pegahmagabow was a First Nations soldier and that there may have been jealousy on the part of some officers.

literature

• Robin Brownlie (Ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-541784-5 .
• Adrian Hayes: Pegahmagabow: Legendary Warrior, Forgotten Hero. Fox Meadow Creations, 2003, ISBN 978-0-9681452-8-9 , 95 pages.

Web links

• Franz M. Koennecke: Francis Pegahmagabow , in: The Canadian Encyclopedia .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Robin Brownlie (Ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, p. 63.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Peter S. Schmalz (Ed.): The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario. University of Toronto Press, 1991, p. 301.
3. ^ Adrian Hayes (Ed.): Parry Sound: Gateway to Northern Ontario. Dundurn Press, 2005, p. 128.
4. ↑ Veterans Affairs Canada: Native Soldiers - Foreign Battlefields: A Peaceful Man , accessed June 26, 2019.
5. ^ Brian Bethune: Windigo in the First World War. (Reviews of Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road ), in: Maclean’s dated May 30, 2005, accessed on June 26, 2019 via archive.org .
6. ^ Robin Brownlie (ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp. Ix.
7. ^ Robin Brownlie (ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, p. 57.
8. ^ ^{A b} Robin Brownlie (Ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, p. 65.
9. ^ Robin Brownlie (ed.): A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939. University of Toronto Press, 2003, p. 98.
10. ^ ^{A b} Doug Mackey: Legendary Soldier - Native Leader. Community Voices, in: Past Forward , December 12, 2003, accessed June 26, 2019.
11. ↑ Ranger Headquarters named after Canada's most decorated aboriginal soldier ( Memento from June 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ ^{a b} Herb Wyile ​​(Ed.): Speaking in The Past Tense: Canadian Novelists on Writing Historical Fiction Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-88920-511-6 , pp. 225-237.
13. ↑ Cpl. Francis Pegahmagabow's medals donated to the Canadian War Museum ( Memento from July 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )