Description
Decoteau, a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation of Saskatchewan, was born in 1887. He was Canada’s first Indigenous police officer and also a prolific runner. He competed in the 5,000 metre race at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, finishing sixth in the final after suffering leg cramps. Decoteau enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916 and, after training at Camp Sarcee in Calgary, Alberta, arrived in Liverpool on the HMS Mauretania on 30th November. He spent six months in England before leaving for the Front, training at Witley Camp in Godalming. Like other famous First Nations Olympians who enlisted, including Tom Longboat and Joe Keeper, Decoteau served as a dispatch carrier. While their most notorious military exploits happened in France, they were stationed in Britain before going to the Front and they all continued to race during this time. At one event, Decoteau was apparently presented with a gold watch by George V in lieu of a winner’s medal. He was killed in action by a sniper’s bullet at the Battle of Passchendaele on 30th October 1917.
Bibliographic sources
Details text from https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/bts/2018/10/29/first-world-war-native-stories/; location information from personnel file: https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B2464-S004.