Mike Belcourt 1914 - 2006

Aboriginal veteran passes away leaving legacy

Fred Myles Belcourt, known by most as Mike Belcourt, was born in Heart River on Sept. 2, 1914, one of six children born to Daniel and Sophie Belcourt.

Mike’s father passed away when he was 15. As the eldest son he went to work to support his family. It was while he was working in the Northwest Territories that World War II broke out in Europe. Mike traveled down to enlist in Peace River.

“A lot of my friends had already gone over and I didn’t want to be left behind,” he later recalled.

He first served with the 2nd Canadian Army Service Corp and was often responsible for drilling platoons. Mike then went on to serve as a Lance-Corporal with the 5th Canadian Service Corp.

In 1943, aboard a ship headed to Italy, his convoy, which included 35 other vessels, was attacked at dusk.

“I looked up and saw that we were completely surrounded by enemy aircraft. I was one of 36 gunners and we positioned or guns at a 45-degree angle and commenced firing. The enemy started dropping torpedoes, we could see them coming through the water at us.”

They were able to save all the vessels with the exception of a hospital ship that was hit making it necessary for the passengers to abandon that ship. All but one nurse were rescued. The convoy scattered in all directions to evade further attacks and Mike went on to Italy where, with six men under his command, he braved it through heavy artillery to get ammunition and supplies to the troops.

In 1994, while volunteering to organize events for the Elders that included recognition of our veterans, I first spoke with Mike about his experiences in the war. I remember that day so well as we sat in the upstairs office of the old office and he began to share his experiences. We both cried and I was so moved by what he had said that I was determined to locate and speak with the other veterans on all the eight settlements.

When I finished collecting their stories I sat with Mike and we decided to approach Ottawa to appeal for a review of the treatment of the Aboriginal veterans when they left the service. Although they were entitled to land, education, insurance and counseling most veterans told me they were never told about these benefits and never accessed them. These findings began the appeal to the federal government and in 1996 Mike and five other Metis veterans went before a standing committee on Aboriginal peoples chaired by Jane Stewart and told their stories.

After hearing them the committee unanimously agreed that there had been an injustice done and their recommendation was to looking further into it and doing something about it. The National Aboriginal Veterans Society took up the cause and it resulted in the placing of a large statue on Parliament Hill recognizing the contribution of aboriginal soldiers to the war effort, a scholarship foundation being established for veterans’ descendants and many Aboriginal veterans being taken back to Europe to bring closure to their war experiences.

Canada has finally officially acknowledged the huge contribution of Aboriginal veterans and it all began in a little office at Gift Lake Metis Settlement with Mike.

Mike believed in hard work and started farming with his parents at a young age. When he returned home after the end of the war, he worked many different jobs that included being a CN Rail worker, millwright in High Prairie, a custodian at Gift Lake CVC, a mailman for the Grouard to Whitefish route by horse and wagon, an elected member of the Gift Lake Settlement council for one term and a member of the Gift Lake School board for two terms.

Mike met his wife, Louise, at a dance in Grouard when she was only 17 years old. They were married on Feb. 21, 1955 in Whitefish. They had their first child the year after who tragically only lived for two years. They went on to have 16 children, 10 girls and six boys.

Mike was a devoted husband and father. He believed he was responsible for providing everything for his family and helped Louise with the many tasks of raising a large family that included going to High Prairie once a week to do the clothes at the laundromat. Louise would sort the clothes and put them into garbage bags so all Mike and Josephine had to do was dump out the bags and load the clothes into the machines.

One day Louise had put a bag of garbage near the bags of clothes to be washed. Not realizing this, Mike picked it up along with the other bags and took them all to town. When he got to the laundromat he began dumping out the bags but when he dumped the bag of garbage all Josephine could hear was cans falling onto the floor and the clatter of garbage flying around. She was so embarrassed she hid and watched the manager help her Dad clean it up. Mike carried on as if nothing had happened but I’ll bet he checked the bags from then on!

Mike took really good care of his family. He thought more of others’ needs than his own. Louise and he were always traveling together somewhere. He seldom left without her. They would travel to the city or to visit relatives.

On one of these trips to Edmonton Mike asked Louise for some face cream to sooth his dried out skin. She told him it was in a tube in her bag. He got it out and put some on his hands and rubbed it all over his face.

“I can feel it working already! My skin feels nice and tight,” he excitedly told Louise.

He was soon to discover he had grabbed the wrong tube and had put Quick Sew - a kind of fabric glue on his face. All I can say is thank goodness he didn’t have a beard then!

Mike was always trying to make sure Louise had everything she needed and he did his best to take good care of her. It is because of his commitment to her and her well-being, that the family believes kept him fighting to stay alive so long even when he was so sick. He didn’t want to leave her alone.

Chris recalls his dad saying, “If you see someone down and needing help it doesn’t matter what they look like or the color of their skin.. .you need to help them.” Mike never held a grudge and didn’t take sides. He believed all were worthy to be loved and respected and lived by that rule.

Mike loved hunting, fishing and trapping. He was an avid outdoorsman. He was determined to do things himself as long as he could and could be seen chopping his own wood and picking up around the yard in spite of his illness that was obviously taking its toll.

Mike has been a strong voice for the Elders and was named Gift Lake Elder of the Year and received recognition from Gift Lake and the Metis Settlements General Council for his military active duty.

Through the years Moosoom Mike was very active and a whole-hearted man who believed that our kids should learn about themselves. Moosoom became a story teller and through that the youth began learning about their culture.

Moosoom would always participate in our cultural events, including the youth camps in Long Lake. He was very instrumental in keeping our traditional values and beliefs alive and hopefully we all learned a great deal from him. I know I have.

Mike was a faithful member of the Gift Lake Catholic Church and took his role as Lay Minister very seriously. He took his cursillo in 1997 in Hobbema with Charles and Linda McLeod as sponsors.

Mike is survived by: his wife, Louise M. Belcourt; children: Gordon (Freda), Beatrice, Barbara, Vicki, Roland (Barb), Joyce, Karen, Marvin (Roxanne), Josephine (Conrad), Polly (Darwin), Chris (Josie); sister Maggie Travis; 47 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Mike will be sadly missed by family and friends. Although he didn’t posses much material wealth he leaves behind a rich legacy of traditional values and the ability to find humor and laugh even in the hard times. It is these gifts of his we will keep in our hearts and he will live on in his children and their children’s children and in all whose lives have been touched by him in some way.

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