Robin Cote is from Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan, however she served in the United States Navy.
Cote was 26 when she determined to enlist in 2006. She mentioned the choice was a no brainer.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I took the opportunity and I didn’t at that time realize how important that would be or what my representation of being an Indigenous woman would be at that time,” Cote, who retired from obligation as a petty officer third class, mentioned.
She had needed to be within the army since she was a little bit lady, understanding she got here from a protracted line of veterans who fought in wars. She mentioned being a girl by no means dissuaded her.
“I serve just as much as anyone. I was willing to put my life on the line for our country just like all the other men that did the same thing. It wasn’t because I was a woman or not. It was just a decision that I made, and I’m glad that I made it,” Cote mentioned.
Looking again, she mentioned she would do all of it once more if given the prospect.
Robin Cote in {a photograph} displayed throughout a Remembrance Day ceremony on the First Nations University of Canada on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Darla Ponace/ CBC)
Cote was allowed to enlist due to the Jay Treaty, an settlement between the U.S. and Great Britain signed in 1794 that permits Canadian First Nations individuals with Native American heritage to maneuver to the U.S. for employment, finding out, retirement, investing or immigration.
“When I think about our ancestors and our relatives that live on the other side of the medicine line or border … you know, our people were here before they were borders,” she mentioned.
“I think it’s important to recognize that.”
Cote mentioned she needed to honour all of the family members from her Dakota/Sioux heritage.
“I wanted to not only represent myself, but also them in service and protecting the land,” she mentioned.
Cote mentioned you will need to acknowledge that girls convey steadiness to the army.
“The military is not always about war. It’s not about, ‘I’m going to shoot a gun,’ or, ‘I’m going to go out there and I’m going to hold arms with somebody,'” she mentioned. “It’s actually a very amazing experience, a learning experience, a training experience.”
As a hospital corpsman, she acquired medical coaching and now is aware of save lives.
“I think it’s important to have that woman perspective, and that woman energy, in these spaces because we are the balance in family units and in these structures.”
Cote mentioned girls have fought for a few years for his or her voices to be heard.
“It’s a very huge honour to be able to speak on behalf of a lot of the other women who served as well.”
‘My mother was fearless’
Kathleen McArthur Robinson, from Pheasant Rump First Nation in Saskatchewan, was the primary Indigenous girl within the U.S. Air Force to guide {an electrical} methods crew. Robinson died in 2011 on the age of 55.
Her daughter Dominga Robinson remembers her mother’s lifelong devotion to army service.
“My mom was fearless,” she mentioned.
Kathleen Robinson had the excellence of being the primary Indigenous girl within the U.S. Air Force to guide {an electrical} methods crew. (Submitted by Dominga Robinson)
Dominga mentioned her mother was initially raised by her grandmother, however was positioned with a non-Indigenous household when that grandmother died. This made Robinson wrestle together with her id, Dominga mentioned, so going again to her group did not really feel like an choice as a younger girl.
Robinson ran away from her foster household when she was 17 or 18, and ended up within the United States, Dominga mentioned.
“The U.S. recognizes the Jay Treaty, and so that’s how she was able to go down there,” Dominga mentioned. “She was able to get work and make a life down there for herself.”
Dominga mentioned Robinson cared deeply for the world and this drove her to serve within the U.S. Air drive.
“She was willing to sacrifice her life for the betterment of everybody else,” she mentioned.
Dominga mentioned her mother’s job was sustaining and fixing electrical methods in plane at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
“They were the ones to check those electrical systems to make sure they were safe before the pilots took off,” she mentioned. “She was a staff sergeant, so she had a crew working underneath her.”
Kathleen Marie McArthur Robinson, from Pheasant Rump First Nation in Saskatchewan, enlisted within the U.S. Air Force in her mid 20s. (Submitted by Dominga Robinson)
Dominga mentioned her mom was the primary Indigenous girl to carry this place.
“Back in the ’70s, there were not a lot of women in the U.S. military or military in general. It was a very male-dominated industry,” she mentioned.
“So they really had to prove themselves to be able to rise up in the ranks. It wasn’t easy or attainable. So, you know, just being a woman and a woman of colour, there were barriers put up to her that she blasted through.”
When Dominga was 4 years outdated, her mom was despatched to patrol the border between North Korea and South Korea for a yr.
“She had to leave me in Canada. Although there was no gunfire or shooting across the north and south line, she was witness to some of that kind of aggression,” she mentioned.
“It was a big sacrifice for her to leave me for a year to go and serve over there. But it needed to be done.”
Robinson ultimately developed a coronary heart situation stemming from rheumatic fever she had when she was a baby and medically retired from the Air Force.
Dominga mentioned she is happy with her mom for all the things she achieved in her army profession. She mentioned her mother taught her that nothing good comes with out sacrifice.
“She would have loved to have helped to protect people her entire life, but unfortunately that was not available for her.”
