On Friday (Nov. 8), Indigenous Veterans Day, an engraved stone was unveiled in honour of the Underwood brothers of Tsawout First Nation who served in the Second World War.
George served with Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry involved in the last ground fighting in Italy. Benjamin was with the Royal Canadian Engineers helping to build roads and bridges to transport supplies and resources. Edward who served with the Canadian Scottish Regiment, survived the war and was going to be trained as an officer but died of tuberculosis infection. He is buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands.
Former Tsawout councilor Mavis Underwood led the unveiling together with sister Lisa, brother Kelly and their auntie Adelynne Claxtun.
“It was about remembering our history – our family history,” says Mavis. “The general public needs to know about what Indigenous war veterans did for the country…they weren’t valued; they were underappreciated and many people were ignorant of the facts and the reality on all the reserves that they created for us.”
The Underwood memorial stands against a majestic backdrop of a red and white boat, owned by Mavis’ father, George.
“My father named the boat “Kwasen”, which means, star,” she shared.
Her brother, Kelly recalls all the time he spent with his father and brothers building the boat, which once belonged to their grandfather.
Also present during the unveiling was Royal Roads University professor Geoffrey Bird who’s leading a project to produce a documentary together with Elders from Songhees and WSANEC focusing on the experiences of Indigenous veterans after the Second World War.
The documentary will be shown in May 2025.
Bird mentioned that the location for the memorial marker was specifically chosen by Mavis because it’s not only a place where Tsawout people come and go, but children also pass the area on their way to school.
“I hope the children will see that we have history, we have purpose and we belong here on this homelands and to remember our history to bring it to ourselves to our families and then pass it on,” Mavis said.
The memorial marker stands at 2634 Mount Newton Cross Rd. beside the Tsawout First Nation Cemetery.
