Francis Pegahmagabow

Early life

Francis Pegahmagabow was born on March 9, 1891, on what is now the Shawanaga First Nation reserve in Nobel, Ontario. In Ojibwe his name was Binaaswi ("the wind that blows off"). When Francis was three years old, his father died and his mother subsequently left him to return to her home in the Henvey Inlet First Nation. He was raised by elder Noah Nebimanyquod and grew up in Shawanaga, where he learned traditional skills such as hunting, fishing, and traditional medicine. In early October 1914 he was deployed overseas with the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division—the first contingent of Canadian troops sent to fight in Europe. His companions there nicknamed him "Peggy".

In April 1915, Pegahmagabow fought in the Second Battle of Ypres, where the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front; it was during this battle that he began to establish a reputation as a sniper and scout.

On November 6/7, 1917, Pegahmagabow earned a Bar to his Military Medal for his actions in the Second Battle of Passchendaele. During the fighting, Pegahmagabow's battalion was given the task of launching an attack at Passchendaele.

The war ended in November 1918 and in 1919 Pegahmagabow was invalided back to Canada. He had served for almost the whole war, he was credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more. A decade later, he was appointed councillor from 1933 to 1936. In 1933 the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) changed its policies and forbade First Nation chiefs from corresponding with the DIA. They directed that all correspondence, as of the spring of 1933, go through the Indian agent. First Nation members who served in the army during World War I were particularly active as political activists. They had travelled the world, earned the respect of the comrades in the trenches, and refused to be sidelined by the newly empowered Indian agent. Historian Paul Williams termed these advocates "returned soldier chiefs", and singled out a few, including Pegahmagabow, as being especially active. This caused intense disagreements with Daly and eventually led to Pegahmagabow being deposed as chief. The Indian agents labelled him a "mental case" and strove to sideline him and his supporters.

During World War II Pegahmagabow worked as a guard at a munitions plant near Nobel, Ontario, and was a Sergeant-major in the local militia. In 1943, he became the Supreme Chief of the Native Independent Government, an early First Nations organization.

Legacy Canadian journalist Adrian Hayes wrote a biography of Pegahmagabow titled Pegahmagabow: Legendary Warrior, Forgotten Hero, published in 2003, and another titled Pegahmagabow: Life-Long Warrior, published in 2009. Canadian novelist Joseph Boyden's 2005 novel Three Day Road was inspired in part by Pegahmagabow. The novel's protagonist is a fictional character who, like Pegahmagabow, serves as a military sniper during World War I, although Pegahmagabow also appears as a minor character.

In 2019, the history-themed power metal band Sabaton released a song dedicated to Pegahmagabow, titled "A Ghost in the Trenches", on their album The Great War.

Binaaswi was one of eight 2020 finalists for the $5 bill in Canada's eighth series of banknotes.

Pegahmagabow was portrayed by Keenan Keeshig in the 2022 movie The Ace and the Scout (also known as Battle for the Western Front ).

The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow is a play launched in 2024 by Edmonton's Shadow Theatre.

Awards

He was first awarded the Military Medal while fighting at the second battle of Ypres, Festubert and Givenchy, for courage above fire in getting important messages through to the rear. While researching his 2005 novel Three Day Road, Boyden was asked about why he thought that Pegahmagabow had not received a higher award like the Distinguished Conduct Medal or the Victoria Cross. Boyden speculated it was due to Pegahmagabow being a First Nations soldier, and that there may have been jealousy on the part of some officers who he felt might have been suspicious of the number of Germans Pegahmagabow claimed to have shot because he did not use an observer while sniping.