Unsung Hero

The record is not entirely clear, but it seems Francis Pegahmagabow was born around 1891 on the Shawanaga First Nation (https://shawanagafirstnation.ca/about/population/) , not far from Parry Sound, Ontario. His Ojibwe name was Binaaswi.

When he was about three years of age, his father died and his mother, who was very ill, had to go back to her family. Francis fell to be raised by elder Noah Nebimanyquod, who taught the young boy the traditional skills of tracking, hunting, fishing, native medicine, and living off the land.

Apparently Francis picked up a little formal schooling here and there, and when he was eleven, the local Crown Attorney, Walter Lockwood Haight, sponsored his room, board, and tuition so he could attend public school full time. When he was twelve, however, he left and took work in the lumber and fishing camps and as a marine firefighter.

When World War One broke out, he quickly enlisted despite the Government’s racist “no minorities” policy. Finding himself in the thick of fighting in France, Francis soon discovered that his natural aptitudes, shaped by learning at the foot of Elder Noah, suited him perfectly for two things: scouting and sniping. His courage under fierce fire and in No Man’s Land was legendary.

But it was his skill as a marksman which distinguished him. He was credited with picking off 378 of the enemy, one by one, typically at great distances, and personally capturing 300 more.

Considered one of the greatest snipers in history, his methods were fundamental to the development of sniper military doctrine. Skills of patience, observation, self-control and understanding his target were all learned in the forests back home. Army records note that “His iron nerves, patience and superb marksmanship helped make him an outstanding sniper”

Seriously wounded more than once and remaining to this day the most decorated Indigenous Canadian soldier, after the war, Francis was demobilized to a country which continued to treat him as second class. As an Indian, he was considered a “ward of the state” and could not even leave his reserve without the permission of the Indian Agent. He died in 1952, after a lifetime of activism on behalf of Indigenous Canadians. Yet it would be eight more years before First Nations people gained the right to vote in federal elections.

So, what are the lessons of Francis Pegahmagabow?

Clearly, he stands as a model of the Alignment Doctrine, that your highest and best is always found in the place where your unique Giftings exactly match the Needs. He stands among my Famous Dropouts who demonstrate that it is Giftings, not credentials, which determine excellence.

Sadly, though, there is another lesson, a harder one. Canada was happy enough to use Binaaswi in war, even to give him the Military Medal with two bars (an honour shared with only 38 other Canadians), but on his return relegated him to non-citizen status on the land where his ancestors had lived and hunted since the time before time.

Of that we cannot be proud.