Within weeks of volunteering, Francis became one of the original members of the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion. One of the first of more than 4000 Indigenous soldiers to volunteer for overseas service in the war. Francis also indicated his year of birth as 1891, although provincial commemorative plaques and some historical sources place his year of birth as 1889. When he signed his Attestation Paper (all soldiers had to fill out forms stating their date and place of birth, weight, occupation, etc.) at Valcartier Camp on 15 Septemberġ914, Francis indicated his occupation as “Fireman” and added “None” under next-of-kin. On with the 23rd Regiment (Northern Pioneers) overseas contingent in August 1914. Almost immediately after war was declared in August 1914, he went to the recruitment office, where he was judged physically fit for overseas service. In his path, Francis was determined to volunteer for the army. By 1916, however, as casualties rose overseas and the Canadian Expeditionary Force became increasingly desperate for volunteers, Indigenous soldiers (particularly Treaty Indians like Francis Pegahmagabow) were encouraged to enlist. First World War ServiceĪt the start of the First World War in 1914, the Canadian government discouraged Indigenous peoplesĪnd excluded many other ethnic minorities in Canada from military service. He contracted typhoid fever in 1913, but was nursed back In the summer of 1912, Francis worked as a marine fireman for the Department of Marine and Fisheries on the Great Lakes. He did well in his studies and learned how to play and read music. In January 1912, Francis received the financial aid he sought and beganĪttending school. While he attended classes, Francis enlisted the help of the Parry Sound Crown attorney, Walter Lockwood Haight. After the band council refused to help him pay for room and board In 1911, at the age of 21, Francis decided that he wanted to complete his public-school education. Was not very healthy during his early childhood, he soon grew up to become a physically and emotionally strong young man.Īt the age of 12, Francis started working at the local lumber camps and fishing stations. Shawanaga elder Solomon Pawis claimed that while Francis Francis practised a combination of Roman Catholicism and Anishinaabe spirituality (s ee Religion and Spirituality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada). He was taught to hunt and fish and was also introduced to traditional medicine by his foster mother. Growing up in Shawanaga, Francis was raised according to the cultural customs and traditions of the Anishinaabe ( Francis was left to be raised by Noah Nebimanyquod, the same man who had raised Francis’ father after the deaths After her husband’s death, Mary returned to her home of Henvey Inletįirst Nation, located on the northern shores of Georgian Bay. Francis’ mother, Mary Contin, had also become ill from the same sickness. Three years old, his father, Michael Pegahmagabow, passed away after battling an unknown but severe illness. On the shores of Parry Sound ( see Reserves in Ontario). Francis Pegahmagabow was born on what is now the Shawanaga First Nation reserve (of the larger Anishinabek nation) in Nobel, Ontario,
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