First World War Recruitment

The Canadian Government became increasingly desperate for recruits during the First World War, causing a shift in policy as it relates to the control of Indigenous peoples. Previously, government policies had characterized the warrior culture of Indigenous peoples as immoral "savagery", using it as a justification for assimilation and Western expansion. Now, government recruitment agents were glorifying armed conflict and appropriating warrior narratives to persuade Aboriginal people to enlist. This duplicity demonstrates the shifting dynamics of propaganda, in which the behaviours and activities of Indigenous people could be demonized or celebrated, depending on the government's agenda.