A distinguished serviceman and athlete, Claude Petit has memorialized the contributions of Aboriginal veterans and is considered a role model for the Native community. Born in Duck Lake on October 1, 1935, Petit served as a paratrooper with the Canadian Armed Forces for sixteen years. He was instrumental in creating a monument to Aboriginal veterans in Ottawa as well as an Aboriginal Veterans Millennium Medal. Petit also founded the Western Canadian Native Minor Hockey Championship in Saskatoon and served as president of the Saskatchewan Boxing Association for nine years. For twenty-three years, he organized Back-to-Batoche, a Métis celebration that he also helped establish. Petit received the Order of Canada in 1998 and was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2002.
Canadian Plains Research Center