Armed Forces name former Manitoba MP as first Indigenous Knowledge Keeper – Winnipeg [Video]

A former Cree member of Parliament and a longtime military member has been named the Canadian Armed Forces’ first Indigenous Knowledge Keeper.

Warrant Officer Robert-Falcon Ouellette is set to be promoted to captain in a ceremony hosted by the military in Winnipeg on Thursday evening.

“It’s about the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples fully within the institutions of our nation,” Ouellette said in an interview ahead of the ceremony.

“We’ve moved in such a way with reconciliation that we have this opportunity to really demonstrate what the Canadian Forces can be.”

Ouellette said he is a fourth-generation military member with nearly three decades of service. He started with the Navy League and Sea Cadet program and is currently with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles unit.

From 2015 to 2019, Ouellette represented the riding of Winnipeg Centre as a Liberal MP.

He is currently an associate professor of education at the University of …