Originally published June 5, 2023.
On June 5, 1947, Thomas George “Tommy” Prince appeared before a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons, which examined the Indian Act. The Anishinaabe activist and decorated Canadian veteran was one of many Indigenous representatives from across the country who travelled to Ottawa to give testimony.
Tommy Prince was a descendant of the respected Ojibwa Chief Peguis. Born in Petersfield, Manitoba, in 1915, he moved with his family to Brokenhead Ojibway Nation shortly before leaving home to attend Elkhorn Residential School at age five. He left school at 14 years old to enter the workforce, so he could help his family survive the Great Depression.
In 1940 Prince volunteered to fight for Canada in the Second World War. He served with the Royal Canadian Engineers before joining the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in 1942. He later transferred to the elite 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion, which was attached to the First Special Service Force and nicknamed the “Devil’s Brigade” by German forces. He was on the frontlines of the Mediterranean theatre, deployed at first in Italy in 1943 and then in Southern France in 1944. When the war ended, he returned home a decorated veteran, one of only three Canadians to receive both the Silver Star (U.S.) and the Military Medal, King George VI presenting him with both honours during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 1945.
Within a year of his return to civilian life, Prince became the spokesperson and vice-president of the Manitoba Indian Association. Founded in Fairford in 1934, this political organization played an important role in the Indigenous rights movement that started to take shape in the mid-20th century. Prince was elected to the leadership at its first conference in 1946, not long after the Manitoba Indian Association learned of plans for a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons to investigate the Indian Act. The hearings represented important federal recognition after years of active government opposition to Indigenous political leadership. During his testimony in 1947, he called for the abolition of the Indian Act and adherence to existing treaties. He also advocated for improved housing and education, the creation of social welfare programs, expanded hunting, fishing, and trapping rights, and federal investment in Indigenous agriculture and business. In the end, however, the government decided to revise and not abolish the Indian Act.
Prince later rejoined the Canadian military, serving overseas during the Korean War and contributing to the stalwart defence of Hill 677 in the Battle of Kap’Yong, for which his unit received the Distinguished Unit Citation from the United States. When Prince passed away in 1977, more than 150 mourners attended his funeral, including foreign dignitaries, members of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, and high-ranking officers from the Canadian Forces.
