Indigenous Veterans Day Activities for Schools: Lessons & Ideas

Indigenous Veterans Day is November 8. Schools can use the day to help students learn about First Nations, Inuit and Métis military service, courage, sacrifice and the unequal treatment many Indigenous Veterans experienced when they returned home.

The strongest classroom approach is to move beyond a generic remembrance activity and learn the stories of real Indigenous Veterans, their Nations and communities, the conflicts in which they served, and what happened after they came home.

Indigenous Veterans Day Activities for Schools

• Learn one Veteran’s story: choose a First Nations, Inuit or Métis Veteran and research their service, Nation/community and life after military service.
• Create a remembrance profile: students can make a one-page profile, poster or presentation about an Indigenous Veteran.
• Compare November 8 and November 11: discuss why Indigenous Veterans Day has its own observance and how it connects to Remembrance Day.
• Listen to Veteran voices: use recorded interviews, oral histories or guest speakers where available.
• Discuss service and inequality: explore how Indigenous people served Canada while still facing discrimination and colonial policies at home.
• Host a school remembrance gathering: include student readings, Veteran stories, a moment of silence and locally appropriate acknowledgement.

Indigenous Veterans Day Lesson Ideas by Age

Elementary

Focus on courage, service, family and remembrance. Introduce one Veteran through a short story or video and have students create a respectful remembrance card or drawing connected to what they learned.

Middle School

Compare Indigenous Veterans Day and Remembrance Day, research a Veteran, and discuss why some Indigenous Veterans did not receive equal treatment after their service.

High School

Examine military service alongside citizenship, treaty relationships, enfranchisement, land, benefits and post-war discrimination. Encourage students to use primary and government sources when possible.

People Students Can Learn About

• Tommy Prince — Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Veteran of the Second World War and Korean War.
• Henry Louis Norwest — Métis First World War sniper from Alberta.
• Indigenous Veterans from your own region — local Legion branches, Nations, Métis communities, museums and families may have stories that create a stronger local connection.

What Teachers Should Avoid

• Treating all Indigenous Veterans as one cultural group.
• Reducing the day to colouring pages without learning a Veteran’s story.
• Presenting military service without discussing the discrimination many Indigenous Veterans faced.
• Using ceremonies, songs or cultural protocols without local guidance or permission.

Indigenous Veterans Day Resources

Veterans Affairs Canada provides Indigenous Veteran stories, Veterans’ Week learning materials and guidance for commemorative services. Powwow Times also has a complete Indigenous Veterans Day 2026 guide and Indigenous Veterans Day facts page.

Explore the Indigenous Veterans Day Resource Hub

• Indigenous Veterans Day 2026 guide
• Indigenous Veterans Day facts
• school activities and lesson ideas
• messages and remembrance wording
• notable Indigenous Veterans in Canada
• ceremony ideas for November 8
• Indigenous Veterans Day vs. Remembrance Day