Private Bertie Nakogee: Honouring a Forgotten Soldier

1882–1916
Prospect Cemetery 
Section 17 Lot 4346

Private Bertie Nakogee (often misspelled as “Nackogie”) was born in New Post, Ont., part of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, and grew up in Moose Factory in the province’s northwest. A skilled hunter and trapper, he enlisted on July 20, 1916, with the 228th (Northern Fusiliers) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), a unit recruited in northern Ontario for overseas service. Like many Indigenous volunteers, Nakogee faced cultural and logistical challenges, yet he answered the call to serve during the First World War. 

While training at Camp Borden, Nakogee contracted pneumonia and was admitted to Toronto’s Base Hospital (then Toronto General). He died on December 26, 1916, at age 34, before he could sail overseas. His funeral included full military honours: a flag-draped casket borne on a gun carriage by the 70th Battery, yet his Indigenous identity went unacknowledged. Due to winter conditions, his body could not be returned to Moose Factory by dogsled, and he was buried in Prospect Cemetery.  

For 96 years, Nakogee’s grave remained unmarked and largely forgotten. In 2012, historian Bob Richardson of the CEF Study Group discovered the oversight and organized a memorial service. On April 28, 2012, veterans, elders and members of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation gathered at Prospect Cemetery to unveil a proper headstone. The ceremony included drumming, prayers and an eagle staff honour guard, finally restoring dignity to a soldier who served Canada in life and lay unknown in death.  

Nakogee’s story reflects the broader experience of Indigenous soldiers in WWI: thousands volunteered despite systemic discrimination, many never receiving equal recognition or benefits. Today, his grave stands as a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation. 

Sources: 
•  Mount Pleasant Group – Bertie Nakogee Story 
•  Veterans Affairs Canada – Canadian Virtual War Memorial (Private Bertie Nakogee) 
•  Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) – Bertie Nakogee 

  • indigenous story
  • veterans/wars