US Too Advocacy

Brigadier Oliver Milton Martin

He fought in the trenches of one world war and flew above them. He commanded thousands of Canadian troops in the next. He became a brigadier, the highest rank known to have been reached by an Indigenous Canadian soldier during that era. And through all of it, Canada would not let many of his own people vote.

Oliver Milton Martin was born in 1893 on the Six Nations of the Grand River territory, a Mohawk in a family and nation with a long tradition of fighting alongside the Crown. In peacetime, he chose the quietest kind of service. He became a schoolteacher.

Then came 1914, and the teacher went to war.

Martin served overseas with the 114th Battalion (Brock’s Rangers), a unit with many volunteers from Six Nations. He endured the Western Front as an infantry officer, then did something remarkable for any Canadian of that era, let alone an Indigenous one facing the prejudices of the day. He qualified first as an observer and later as a pilot, finishing the war in the air.

Trenches and sky. Rifle and wings. One war, both worlds.

Between the wars, Martin returned to the classroom, teaching and eventually serving as a school principal in Ontario, while remaining active in the militia. Year after year, he quietly earned promotion through experience, leadership and training.

So when the Second World War came, Canada found it had something rare. An experienced, respected, battle-tested Indigenous officer ready for high command.

Oliver Milton Martin rose to command at the highest levels of Canada’s home defence, leading first one brigade and then another, responsible for thousands of Canadian soldiers. He became one of the highest-ranking Indigenous officers in Canadian military history, and no other Indigenous Canadian is known to have reached a higher rank during his lifetime.

Sit with the contradiction of it, because Martin had to live it. A Mohawk brigadier commanded thousands of Canadian troops in defence of a democracy that still denied status Indians the unconditional federal vote. Many of the men from his own community who served under the flag returned home still governed by the restrictions of the Indian Act. Martin understood this better than most, and he refused to stay silent. After the war, he spoke publicly for the rights, dignity and equal citizenship of Indigenous people, using the standing his rank had earned him as a platform few Indigenous Canadians had ever possessed.

And he was still not finished making history. In 1944, Ontario appointed him its first Indigenous provincial magistrate. The teacher, soldier, pilot and brigadier now sat on the bench.

He died in 1957, three years before Canada finally granted Status Indians the unconditional right to vote in federal elections without giving up their status.

Teacher. Infantryman. Pilot. Brigadier. Magistrate. Advocate. Oliver Milton Martin lived about five lifetimes of service to a country that took its time deserving him.

Say his name alongside the others. Canada’s Indigenous soldiers did not just serve this country. They led it.

Source: Facebook – Canadian Legacy

378 confirmed kills by Canada’s deadliest shooter, Francis Pegahmagabow, who was denied the VC. 300 enemy soldiers captured. He engaged in frontline combat continuously for three years. Second Ypres. Passchendaele. The Somme. He fought through chlorine gas attacks and never stopped. Francis Pegahmagabow was Canada’s most effective sniper in WWI—and one of the deadliest in history. He received the Military Medal with two bars. He should have received the Victoria Cross.
THE PRECEDENT EXISTS:
✈️ Billy Bishop – 72 aerial victories, received VC for cumulative achievements ✈️ Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire – VC awarded explicitly for “four years of sustained bravery”

Pegahmagabow’s three years of extraordinary valour clearly meet this standard. But he was Indigenous.
HIS “REWARD” FOR SERVICE:
❌ Denied farmland under Soldier Settlement Act (white veterans received it)
❌ Pension withheld and delayed by Indian Agents
❌ Treated with suspicion and paternalism
❌ Couldn’t vote in the country he defended
❌ Restricted under the Indian Act
A hero abroad. A second-class citizen at home.
378 KILLS. 300 CAPTURES. ZERO VICTORIA CROSS.The same discriminatory system that denied him benefits after the war denied him the VC during it. Francis Pegahmagabow deserves the Victoria Cross.

The same discriminatory system that denied him benefits after the war denied him the VC during it.
Francis Pegahmagabow deserves the Victoria Cross.
SIGN PETITION E-6661 to create an Independent Review Board and finally give him the recognition he earned in blood. CLOSES NOV 20:
🪶 Canada’s deadliest sniper. Denied his honor. 🪶
🪶 Say his name. Sign the petition. Demand justice.

Sean Jerome,

Founding Director,

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Welcome! This is just a start as we put together the material to share with you the plight of many Natives within the Canadian justice system. Our goal is to expose the systemic bias, racism, and discrimination perpetrated against Natives by the Canadian government, the courts, provincial and federal Corrections departments, and various other agencies that run halfway houses or other community programs on behalf of these departments. You will likely be shocked and will hopefully be moved to help us make the changes Natives need.

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