Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal Canadians in the Canadian Armed Forces: A Critical Review

This critical article review analyzes the recruitment policies of the Canadian Armed Forces towards Aboriginal Canadians during 1939-1945. The article highlights the racial discrimination and the challenges faced by the Aboriginal Canadians in joining the armed forces. The author, R. Scott Sheffield, effectively discusses the different policies and ways the European people were recruited in the armed forces. The article concludes that the recruitment of the native aboriginals could not be done as per the regulations declared by the higher authority of the Canadian armed forces.

Running head: CRITICAL ARTICLE REVIEW
Critical Article Review
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The following essay will be written in the argument form as the topic is on the
recruitment of the aboriginals in the military forces in Canada. The article that has to be
reviewed here is the “Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy
and Aboriginal Canadians, 1939–1945”.1 The author of the article is R. Scott Sheffield. The
article was written in the year 1996. The purpose of writing this article was to demonstrate how
the white skinned European persons were given more priority for the recruitment in the armed
forces and naval forces in Canada over the aboriginal people in the country.2
Thesis statement: R. Scott Sheffield has provided the readers with the proper analysis on the
recruitment policies in the armed forces and naval forces in Canada. The different policies
and ways the European people were recruited in the armed forces have been effectively
discussed here.
Topic Sentence: The people from the European descent were being given the edge over the
local aboriginal people in terms of recruitment.
1 Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal
Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.
2 Kitchen, Peter, Allison Williams, and James Chowhan. "Sense of community belonging and health in Canada: A
regional analysis." Social Indicators Research 107, no. 1 (2012): 103-126.

2CRITICAL ARTICLE REVIEW
The naval service in the country was a huge one but the employment of the First Nations
men in the forces was not much encouraged by the authorities. The recruitment of the aboriginal
people in the armed forces has been put aside in the recent times. The records have been stored
of the total number of the Status Indians serving the military forces. The Royal Canadian Navy
was in need of a huge force to secure the threats from the enemies. The racial discrimination was
maintained in the naval forces during the middle of the twentieth century. The conflict that
existed in the recruitment process can be divided into two segments. One is definitely the
operational side of it and the other one is the three sides like the social, economical and political
aspects of the whole matter.3 The different issues in the native military service had not been
disclosed in some of the books that were published during that time. The experts have argued on
this matter that the naval rating of the Canadian forces did not approve of the free mixing of the
Indians and the white skinned European people. The Army and RCAF recruitment policies
always questioned for the recruitment of the native people. This had been a very interesting thing
to notice amidst the conflicts based on the racial discrimination.4 In the naval forces, the
environment never went against the drinking of alcohol among the European people. Amidst this
condition, the inclusion if the Indians not all encouraged. This is why they were not recruited in
the army. Some experts have cited the example of the British Royal Navy that the various people
from China and Malta were being employed in the army but they were kept far away from their
3 Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal
Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.
4 Miller, James Rodger. Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Native-newcomer Relations in Canada.
University of Toronto Press, 2018.

3CRITICAL ARTICLE REVIEW
British counterparts. Some of the ships in the Canadian Navy were small and this is why the
people from the Indian origin were not at all included there.5
Topic sentence: The condition of recruitment for the native aboriginals in the Canadian Air
Force
The recruitment process in the Air Force of Canada will also have to be assessed in this
segment as well. There was a ban imposed on recruiting the Native aboriginals in the Canadian
armed forces including the Air Force as well. Some of the important criterions that were needed
to be fulfilled in this section were the health conditions of the personnel and the high education.
Initially, these people were deprived of the proper education rights as well because of the In the
Air Force, the enlistment process for the native people went on but it proved to be somewhat
difficult for the young men as well.6 Many things had to be taken under consideration like the
physical fitness of the candidates and the education in the elementary flight schools. The fitness
issues in the Air Force led to the rejection of many aboriginal people in the country. Therefore,
only some white skinned people got the opportunity of getting admitted into the Canadian Air
Force indeed.7 It has been recorded that a very small number of the aboriginal people had served
in the early wars. This very small number of people did not increase in the following years as
well. The aboriginal population had serious issues with their physical discomforts. Many serious
5
6 Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal
Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.
7 Miller, James Rodger. Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Native-newcomer Relations in Canada.
University of Toronto Press, 2018.

4CRITICAL ARTICLE REVIEW
issues were found in the communicable diseases and the problems in the blood pressure and
others.8 The other important issues that took away the chances of participation of the aboriginal
people to join the armed forces were the eyesight problems and minor health issues. Some
diseases that broke out in the period between the wars were tuberculosis and trachoma. If these
diseases broke out, it would have been highly damaging for the living in the military cantonment
areas. The age limits could be considered as very important issues in this matter since the
aboriginal people often had exceeded the age limit that was being considered for the recruitment
criteria. The education level of the aboriginal people in Canada halted the process of their
inclusion in this manner. In the process of those people getting more education from school,
increased their age. This had been very much important for their non-admission in the armed
forces.
Topic sentence: The authority was not at all that much interested in the aboriginal Indian
recruits.
It has to be said in this context that the authority, too, was not that much interested in
recruiting the people in the Indian people in their forces. As some experts have noticed, the
authority was much reluctant in recruiting the common aboriginal people The high ranked
officers of the armed forces have said that the higher authorities did not want to recruit these
people into the forces.9 The naval forces of Canada were the examples of this. The incidence of
the spread of the tuberculosis in the camps of the army proved to fatal for the other army
8 Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal
Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.
9 Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy and Aboriginal
Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.

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personnel.10 The higher authorities came to the conclusion that the root cause for this was the
involvement of the native people in the army. This is why they had questioned about the
expulsion of the native aboriginals from the naval forces as well. Many such incidents were
recorded in the areas like Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba and other places. It was clear
from the several incidents that the army was not at all intended to enlist the native aboriginals
into their forces.11 The blocking of the aboriginal recruitment in the army was considered to be
recorded in Ottawa. The recruitment policies came under the suspicion. Thus the entire context
was questionable indeed.
Conclusion
The essay can be concluded by saying that the recruitment of the native aboriginals could
not be done as per the regulations declared by the higher authority of the Canadian armed forces.
The naval forces could not also receive the native people in their forces as well. It has to be said
in this context that the native aboriginal people were not able to clear the parameters. This is why
they did not want to recruit the native aboriginals in the armed forces. They failed in qualifying
for the different parameters of health and education. This completely halted their chance of
getting the place in the naval forces as well.
10 Miller, James Rodger. Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Native-newcomer Relations in Canada.
University of Toronto Press, 2018.
11 Kitchen, Peter, Allison Williams, and James Chowhan. "Sense of community belonging and health in Canada: A
regional analysis." Social Indicators Research 107, no. 1 (2012): 103-126.

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References

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Kitchen, Peter, Allison Williams, and James Chowhan. "Sense of community belonging and
health in Canada: A regional analysis." Social Indicators Research 107, no. 1 (2012): 103-126.
Miller, James Rodger. Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Native-newcomer Relations
in Canada. University of Toronto Press, 2018.
Sheffield, R. Scott. "“Of Pure European Descent and of the White Race”: Recruitment Policy
and Aboriginal Canadians, 1939–1945." Canadian Military History 5, no. 1 (1996): 2.