ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to explain Newfoundland Mi’kmaq participation in World War I through understandings of recognition and First Nations values while drawing on an interpretation of Judith Butler’s work on Georg Frederick Hegel. The Mi’kmaq of Newfoundland enlisted to fight in World War I in extremely high numbers. Research identified 157 Newfoundland Mi’kmaq personnel, who had previously never been identified or recorded as Mi’kmaq—a concern of their descendants. In some communities, virtually every eligible man enlisted. Some of the men’s wartime experiences gleaned from archived and oral accounts are briefly described here. In common with Indigenous peoples elsewhere, Mi’kmaq had long been socially, economically, and politically marginalized in Newfoundland after European settlement. With reference to Butler (and Hegel) on vulnerability and power relations, this chapter proposes that the high Mi’kmaq participation rate was a strategy aimed at recognition, reimagining, and reshaping of the Mi’kmaq-settler relationship, as well as the discriminatory status and disadvantaged circumstances of Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland society. Mi’kmaq participation was also a call for resonance as understood by anthropologist Unni Wikan, with empathy, understanding, and bridging across divides being crucial elements. In this way, the Newfoundland Mi’kmaq wartime experience parallels that of First Nations in Canada who had similar goals. Although it appears to be paradoxical, high enlistment rates were also a reflection of First Nations values, specifically the enduring Indigenous, including Mi’kmaq, impulse toward and commitment to nonviolent action.
