MNOVC President-elect, Joe Paquette
(right with Eagle Staff),and Métis veteran,
Senator Alis Kennedy (extreme right)
at ceremony on April 28 honouring Aboriginal
veteran Private Bertie Nakogee
Métis Nation of Ontario Veterans’ Council (MNOVC) members participated in a special ceremony held in Toronto on April 28 honouring Aboriginal veteran, Private Bertie Nakogee. Nakogee is a World War I veteran who has been buried in an unmarked grave since 1916. In a ceremony at a Toronto cemetery, Nakogee received a proper Canada War Graves Commission Tombstone.
The MNOVC was represented at the ceremony by MNOVC President-elect, Joe Paquette, and Senator Alis Kennedy of the MNO Toronto and York Region Métis Council. President-elect Paquette carried the Eagle Staff during the ceremony. The staff is wrapped in beaver skin and holds 11 eagle feathers, representing the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It is topped with deer antler; tied to the antler is a circle woven of sweetgrass; within the circle are bundles holding tobacco, cedar, sage and sweetgrass.
For more information, click the link below.
See the video at this link.
http://www.globaltoronto.com/video/gravestone+memorial/video.html?v=2228282293#stories