National Aboriginal Veterans Monument

Located in Confederation Park in Ottawa, this bronze monument honors the Indigenous peoples of Canada who served in the country's wars. A thunderbird crowns the top of a tapering column, beneath which stand figures of a man and a woman and four spirit animals, a wolf, a bear, an elk and a buffalo, representing guidance and sacrifice. Dedicated in 2001, it acknowledges First Nations, Inuit and Métis soldiers whose contributions were long under-recognized. Its spiritual imagery sets it apart from the more conventional military memorials nearby.