Hadn't head this story before, "I will soon be leaving for a trip to Canada but the country is neither new or unfamiliar to me. I have been travelling to Canada for over 50 years and until the recent death of a family member, it was my second home. Like many Scots, our family emigrated to Canada in the 1950s – later editions of the Diaspora Scots. The perceived wisdom of the time was that by crossing the great Atlantic our family would have new opportunities made available to us thus ensuring a better standard of living and health. There was, of course, a great sense of adventure and romanticism about moving to a country with grizzly bears, wolves, beavers, very high mountains and enormous lakes, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and “Red Indians”. But now I cringe with embarrassment and feel a sense of outrage when I hear terms such as “Redskins”, “Red Indians”, “Indians” to describe the indigenous population, now correctly termed the First Nations Peoples of Canada. The traditions and respect for the environment of the First Nations have long been a source of interest and wonderment to me. However, it was a chance remark that led me to inquire if there was substance to a story that claimed Canada’s First Nations First World War soldiers donated money to Scottish Great War veterans. What I eventually discovered was the little known history of a First Nations battalion in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the 114th Haldimand Rifles, also known as Brock’s Rangers, and their war-time relationship with Scotland. Most of the men in the Haldimand Rifles volunteered for war service in 1915 and the majority came from South Ontario on the Six Nations Reserve. The Iroquois Nation had a long history of loyalty to the Crown, fighting with the British in the Revolutionary War and they were allied with the British in the French and Indian Wars. Yet in the early days of the Great War the Canadian Government questioned whether the First Nations could contribute anything to the war effort. In Ottawa, the seat of government, there was a reluctance to involve the native population. Surrounded in mythology if not prejudiced belief, “Red Indians”, as they were referred to in official memoranda, were associated with war-time practices that were incompatible with modern warfare, and it was asserted that the enemy might refuse to “extend to them the privileges of civilised warfare”. However, as the issue was discussed in the corridors of power, many First Nations men and boys had already made their way to recruitment offices and stations. The Iroquois Reserves became active in their support of the war particularly around Brantford and Tyendinaga in Ontario, and they became the highest sources of Indian enlistment in Canada. Also, throughout Canada the First Nations established a Patriotic Fund and collected money for the war effort. On the Reserves, First Nations women raised money for the Canadian Red Cross and supplied homemade comforts for Canadian troops. By 1916, the First Nations were definitely part of the war effort. Following their training at Camp Borden in Canada, the 114th arrived in Britain in October 1916 and were temporarily stationed in the south of England. Prior to deployment, the men asked permission to spend their furlough in Scotland. To Canadian and British Army officers this appeared to be an unusual request. Why did the First Nations soldiers want to travel to Scotland?" http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/chief-clear-sky-and-his-men-made-ultimate-sacrifice-at-the-somme-1-4286126
There more to this story than a happy example of Canadian multi culturalism. The unit was broken up and used for individual replacements for other Canadian infantry. many of the First nations volunteers ended up in an Engineer Brigade. Lieutenant Joseph Brant, a descendant of Chief Joseph Brant and killed at 2nd Ypres in April 1915 may have been associated with this unit at some point.
Do you happen to know if they did any "code talking", like our U.S. Native Americans? We started with code-talking in the First World War with the Choctaws.
I don't think they served on the Somme in 1916. Some individual soldiers might have, if transferred earlier like Joseph Brant but the unit arrived in the UK, in October 1916 and was then broken up.
