Portrait of one of the oldest living Indigenous veterans unveiled at Canadian War Museum

A portrait of one of the oldest living Indigenous veterans in Canada will be on display in the entrance of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa starting Remembrance Day. 

Pte. (Retired) Philip Favel, 98, from Sweetgrass First Nation in Saskatchewan joined the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps in 1942 at the age of 20. His father William Favel had served in the First World War.

After training, Favel was in Europe driving vital supplies to frontline troops from July 1943 to August 1945. He landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on D-Day in the summer of 1944.

The Cree veteran was honoured this past weekend by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian War Museum with a portrait titled Normandy Warrior, by artist Elaine Goble. 

Nadine Favel, 42, represented her grandfather at the unveiling on Indigenous Veterans Day on Sunday in Ottawa. Due to health issues, her grandfather declined to attend the ceremony but watched it live from his home with other family members. 

Nadine Favel said she was wowed by Goble's portrait.

"The intricacy is amazing; I couldn't believe it, I thought it was a real picture. She is an amazing artist.

"It makes me feel a whole lot prouder to be his granddaughter for the kind of person he is and things that he has done, for everything that he stood for his entire life."

Philip Favel was awarded several military medals such as the 1939-45 Star and France's National Order of the Legion of Honor.

After returning from the war, he was an advocate for fair compensation for Indigenous veterans, and served as grand chief of the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association for several years. 

In a news release, Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, said he met Favel at his home in 2018.

"His fighting did not end in Europe, he came home to fight for Indigenous veterans. He is a Canadian hero and I thank him for his service to his country," he said in the statement.

The father of four has always lived in his home community of Sweetgrass First Nation, about 150 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

"He has lived in the same house for about the past 70 years and has always kept it up himself," said Nadine Favel.

The veteran now lives with his grandson, who helps to take care of him. Nadine Favel said that although he is aged, her grandfather always liked to keep his independence.

Nadine Favel said she thinks of her grandfather as a hard worker, empowered and outspoken.

"I think it is because of the way he spoke up for people; his family inherited it as well."

The portrait is now part of the museum's Beaverbrook Collection of War Art. Goble has completed and donated several portraits of veterans to the museum over the years. 

The portrait took seven months to complete, with Goble working on it for 12 hours a day at some times. 

It will be on display at the Canadian War Museum until January 2021. The museum will be open partially and give tours to the public on Remembrance Day.