Dec. 26, 2003 – According to the Ottawa Citizen, a Canadian military report prepared for Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum says the Pentagon was "under the impression" a late 18th century treaty allowed the U.S. military to actively recruit Canadian native peoples.
After the Canadian government complained, the Pentagon asked military recruiters to stay away from Canadian Indian reserves.
The report cited the Pentagon's belief the 1794 Jay Treaty granted dual citizenship to Canadian aboriginals like the Inuit. Canadian defense analyst Alain Pellerin told the Citizen many young native men and women along the U.S.-Canadian border have signed up with the U.S. military in the past. However, Pellerin said that current recruiting efforts aimed at Canadian Indians more likely stemmed from difficulties the U.S. faces in maintaining a sizable military presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots.
In order to staunch the personnel crisis, the Bush Administration has reached out to many people who are not full American citizens. For instance, Green Card holders -- people with permanent resident status but do not qualify as citizens -- now make up 37,000 of the 1.4 million serving in the U.S. military.
