Names of Métis veterans added to Métis Crossing monument, now over 7,000

The National Métis Veterans' Memorial at Métis Crossing, about 120 km northeast of Edmonton, now carries more than 7,000 names after an expansion that added more than 4,000. The update was unveiled on Indigenous Veterans Day, November 8, 2026, at the site.

Among the newly recorded names is Gordon White, a Fort McMurray Métis man who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 6, 1968, was deployed to Vietnam within months, and was killed in battle on March 12, 1969. His youngest sibling, Penny Fedorus, said her sister did the bulk of the work with the Métis government to get his name added.

"My mom's biggest fear is that he would be forgotten and each time we unveil his name, it just brings it one step closer [to being] remembered forever," Fedorus told reporters. Dana Urban, who fought alongside White as a Marine, was across a river from him when he died. Urban said White was walking point at the time, "the most dangerous position to be in."

The monument is owned by the Otipemisiwak Métis Government and honours Métis soldiers who served in wars dating back to before Confederation. Chuck Isaacs, president of the Aboriginal Veterans Society and the Métis Veterans of Alberta Council, said recognition for Indigenous veterans "still has a long way to go."