When he began his career with the Canadian Forces more than 20 years ago, retired sergeant Robin Dawatsare had no idea he would be serving in missions all around the world.

On Tuesday night, the member of the English River First Nation in Saskatchewan was honoured for his service, which included two missions in Bosnia and two missions in Afghanistan.

"My career started here, and I thought I would like to end it here," he said. "I wanted to end it on a good note."

Dawatsare began his military career in 1995 with Bold Eagle, a summer employment program that combines Indigenous culture with military training, and joined the regular forces in 2001.

"[The military] gave me confidence to accept the challenges that you're facing ahead," he said. "Through hard work, you get the results you need."

Dawatsare served with the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, as well as the North Saskatchewan Regiment in Saskatoon. He also received a commendation in 2011 for performing outstanding work in dangerous situations.

"There's a lot of unique men I served with in the military that made me the man I am now," he said. "There's a lot of warriors out there that I was very proud to serve with."

Dawatsare was presented with a blanket by members of the Saskatchewan First Nations Veteran's Association. Members of the military were in attendance, as well as political figures from across northern Saskatchewan.

However, he's not letting the honour get to his head.

"The uniform doesn't represent me," he said. "The uniform represents Canada."