Metis veteran recognized, honoured

Lorna Burke was recently
presented with the Louis Riel Certificate, which indicates that the Metis
Nation of Ontario Veterans’ Council has confirmed she is a Métis veteran. She
was also honoured with the Louis Riel Medal, which is given to Métis veterans
for their dedicated service to their peers, community and the Métis Nation.
Burke also received the Batoche Medal.

Burke comes from a long
line of military men and women, dating as far back as the Northwest Resistance
at Duck Lake and the battle of Cut Knife Hill. There her uncles James and
Charles took up arms with Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont to defend the Métis
Nation.

Burke and her two sisters
joined the Navy and Naval Reserve during the late 1960s. Burke served at the
Canadian Forces Base in Halifax and ended her 12-year naval career at Hamilton
HMCS Star in Hamilton.