Grey Roots Fall Lecture Series: First Nations Soldiers in the Italian Campaign

included with admission and free for Grey Roots members.

Members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation were among the many First Nations and Métis soldiers who fought for Canada and the Allied cause during the Second World War.

While the D-Day effort stands out in histories of the war, local First Nations soldiers were most involved in the difficult effort to liberate Italy, and some of the battles took place around the eastern Italian coastal town of Ortona. Join us just ahead of National Indigenous Veterans Day for a conversation between Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation members and their friend, Angela Arnone, M.S.M., a Battle of Ortona storyteller and guide who is a point of contact for Canadians visiting the area.

Angela will join us via Zoom from Italy. Featuring Chippewas of Nawash members Prin Johnston, Carol Johnston, Marleen Vogl, and Pat Johnston, who have twice travelled to Italy to see where their father, uncle, and grandfather fought and prevailed against the Axis threat and successfully liberated Italy.

Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation soldiers in the Second World War. Left to right: Clifford Nadjiwon, Victor Lavalley, Isadore Pedoniquott, John Johnston, Orville Johnston, Jack McLeod.