A recent display at the Sooke Region Museum may have had its roots in events that happened more than 80 years ago, but the message that the display delivered is still relevant and an important part of history that echoes to this day.
The display featured a man named Frank Planes, a hereditary chief of the T鈥橲ouke First Nation.
From his youngest days, Plane鈥檚 life included training from Elders who taught him about the intricacies of the Juan de Fuca Strait. He learned about the heavy surf, the rivers and the knowledge of the ocean. This was a man who could come into port in complete darkness, just by listening to waves as they interacted with the seaweed.
It was only natural that, when the Second World War broke out, Plane鈥檚 knowledge became even more valuable.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Canada's fledgling navy was not up to the task of patrolling the vast area of the Pacific coastline. This was exacerbated by the fact that most of the ships had been sent to the east coast, leaving the western shores extremely vulnerable.
The solution was The Fisherman鈥檚 Reserve. The Reserve, authorized by the Canadian government in 1938, was mobilized and fishing vessels, converted for use by the RCN, were called into service to patrol the Pacific coast. These vessels, manned by fishermen who had received 30 days of training, were the first line of defence in the event of an invasion.
Obviously, Frank Planes was an ideal candidate for the service. The problem was that the Canadian Navy did not accept Indigenous recruits.
In a taped interview with Planes before his death, he recalled how he was first approached by an army officer.
鈥淚 was working on the boom, booming logs, and this man in uniform came up and said, Frankie, I wanna talk to you. He said we need you and we don鈥檛 need you tomorrow, we needed you yesterday,鈥� Planes recalled.
But when Planes arrived at his recruitment interview, this is how it went.
Recruitment Officer: 鈥淣ow when you join the army, we have to know your nationality first.鈥�
Frank Planes: 鈥淚鈥檓 a North American Native Indian.鈥�
Recruitment Officer: 鈥淣o, no, no. You can鈥檛 join the army under that. There鈥檚 no such Nation of people. That鈥檚 not going to work. They鈥檙e not conscripted鈥� You don鈥檛 look like a full-blooded Indian to me.鈥�
Frank Planes: 鈥榃ell, look me over 鈥榗ause that鈥檚 exactly what I am.鈥�
Recruitment Officer: 鈥淲ell, surely there must be some other nationality in you. What nationality was your mother?鈥�
Frank Planes: 鈥淪he鈥檚 an Indian鈥�
Recruitment Officer: 鈥淣o, no , no, 鈥ot going to work. What was your father?鈥�
Frank Planes: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know my father but I have a stepfather鈥e鈥檚 from Calais, France.鈥�
Recruitment Officer: Oh! He鈥檚 a Frenchman, eh? That鈥檚 great.鈥�
So, Frank Planes was enlisted as being French.
鈥淭here was a whites-only policy in the Navy and, even though they needed these men in the service, they couldn鈥檛 accept them as First Nations people,鈥� said Michelle Richard, the executive director of the Sooke Region Museum. 鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 uncommon and, even though we know that there were many First Nations men in the Fisherman鈥檚 Reserve, we have no idea of the exact number, because they were listed under different nationalities.鈥�
The situation became even more absurd when, after finishing his service in 1944 during which he spent 1,090 days on the water, patrolling the coast, Planes tried to return to his home on T鈥橲ouke Reserve No. 1 and was denied as he was no longer considered 鈥渁n Indian鈥�.
The hypocrisy of that move was even more stunning as Planes didn鈥檛 receive the medals at the time, because 鈥淚ndians were not awarded medals鈥�. Those medals were ultimately delivered four decades later.
鈥淗ow it is that someone who was recruited and gave so much to protect our country had their rights stripped away is staggering,鈥� said Emma Wilton, the Sooke museum鈥檚 collections and exhibits manager. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 important that the story is told.鈥�
As for Planes, finding that he鈥檇 been stripped of his First Nations status, he and his new bride, Lorraine 鈥淏unny鈥� Engler, were forced to purchase land adjacent to the reserve on what is now the Saseenos Elementary School playground.
Ironically, it was during this same period that Canada took thousands of acres of reserve lands across the country and gave them to non-native returning war veterans as part of the Veterans Land Act.
Frank Planes lived off the reserve until the passage of Bill C-31 in 1985, a full 41 years after leaving the service. At that time, he returned to his home where he lived until 2011.
鈥淎 few months ago, Willow Dodge and Fern Albany, Frank Planes' daughters from the T鈥橲ouke Nation, donated his medals so his story could be shared,鈥� said Wilton. 鈥淥ur hope is that by educating people about what happened we can create an awareness and help to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.鈥�
The museum is planning to incorporate Frank Plane鈥檚 story into its general display regarding First Nations people in the region.
