Outstanding Accomplishments - Snipers and Scouts

Like Joseph Brant - his great-great-grandfather - Cameron Brant chose to come to the aid of Great Britain in wartime. The lieutenant was 28 years old when he was killed near Ypres, Belgium, while leading his platoon in a counterattack.

When Samuel de Champlain joined a Huron-Algonquin war party in 1609 and killed two Iroquois with the shot from his harquebus, a new era began .... The only protection from the firearms and the greater killing power of the white man was in dispersion, sniping and ambush. Military historian Fred Gaffen ²⁵

Most Canadians, Natives included, served in the infantry with the Canadian Corps in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Many Natives became snipers or reconnaissance scouts, drawing upon traditional hunting and military skills to deadly effect.

The duties were straightforward and dangerous. Snipers kept the enemy unnerved with their rifle-fire by shooting at targets from concealed positions called "nests". Scouts slipped behind the front lines in advance of an attack to determine the enemy's positions and capabilities.

Throughout the war, the Department of Indian Affairs received scores of letters from the front commending Native marksmen and scouts. As well, at least 50 decorations were awarded to Canadian Natives for their bravery while sniping and scouting and for performing other feats of valour during the war. Though the following men are few in number, they represent a larger group of unnamed Native soldiers, who placed a greater cause before their own lives.