'An honour being here': First Nation drummers commemorate 75th anniversary of D-Day in France
CBC News | Posted: June 5, 2019 4:19 PM | Last Updated: June 5, 2019
Hollow Water First Nation councillor grateful to commemorate 'sacrifices that were made for us to be free'
A group from Manitoba First Nations who travelled thousands of kilometres to Normandy, France, say they're honoured to commemorate the Canadian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on D-Day 75 years ago.
The men, part of the drumming group Warrior Eagle, marked the occasion with a performance on Juno Beach Thursday, where 359 Canadians were killed and 715 wounded or captured on June 6, 1944.
"It's just an honour being here," Leslie Williams, a councillor and drummer from Hollow Water First Nation, told CBC News over the phone from Juno Beach on Wednesday, where the Canadians invaded German-occupied France during the Second World War.
"A lot of things we take for granted; we kind of don't remember those sacrifices that were made for us to be free," he said.
Primarily Canadian, American and British soldiers faced a barrage of heavy machine-guns and other German artillery as they landed on Normandy beaches. Thousands on both sides died.
The grandfathers of two of the First Nation drummers fought at Dunkirk and Juno Beach, Williams said.
It's important to recognize the contributions of First Nation soldiers in helping to liberate Europe during the war, he said.
"I think it's a huge thing because it acknowledges the First Nations as part of Canada," he said.
"With all the history, like residential school and stuff like that, it wasn't really acknowledged enough. Just recently it's starting to be acknowledged."
Williams waded into the shallows after performing to get a sense of what the soldiers might have felt when they jumped from boats to storm the beaches that day.
"I wanted to see what all those young men that fought for our country experienced," he said. "It's a heart-warming experience; you start to realize the sacrifices our people made for our country.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and world leaders from across the globe kicked off D-Day anniversary events Wednesday with a ceremony attended by scores of soldiers from allied nations.
Williams said it's clear from the warm reception he and the drummers received that Canada's contributions to the war effort still resonate today with the French and British.
"People here love the Canadians," he said. "It's pretty amazing."
Watch Warrior Eagle's drum performance:
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