VANCOUVER — Several dozen First Nations veterans and their supporters came together in Vancouver over the weekend to pay tribute to those who have served in armed conflicts in defence of Canada.

As the group marched down Vancouver's West Hastings behind a truck with drummers and singers, the usually seedy and downtrodden Downtown Eastside came to a stop.

People cheered and saluted -- and some even joined the parade.

The march to Vancouver's Cenotaph marked the commemoration of Aboriginal Veterans Day in the city.

Shoshone First Nation soldier Oldhands served with the U.S. Army 132 Regiment in Vietnam.

He said the ceremony is important as it allows First Nations warriors to honour their dead with their own traditions.

Still, he said, too few people are even aware that Aboriginal Veterans Day even exists.

"We weren't allowed to drum our own songs and do our ceremonies on the regular national Remembrance Day so they gave us Nov 8 . . . so that we could do this and the march with our other brothers on the 11th . . . and yet nobody knows anything about Nov. 8," Oldhands said.

The first such march was in 2005.

In a prayer, Robert Nahanee asked the Creator to watch over warriors who served to defend Canada, those still serving in foreign wars, their families and also the handful of veterans on hand as well as those too ill to attend the ceremony.

"We come to here to honour all veterans," he said. "They answered the call. They didn't know what it was about, but they knew they had to support this country."

"They stood underneath that flag and they fought and they gave their lives in those foreign countries," said Nahanee who served with Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry regiment.

Vancouver East MP Libby Davies said the contributions of First Nations veterans has been undervalued.

"Aboriginal people fought in the wars even when they didn't even yet have the right to vote," she said. "They were fighting for democracy and for peace when they didn have full rights as citizens.

She said when many aboriginal veterans came back from foreign battlefields, it was years before their contributions and sacrifice were recognized.

Nahanee said many veterans did not receive the same benefits as other soldiers, such as funded educations.

He said older veterans such as his ailing uncle who could not attend Saturday's ceremony have passed the flag to younger veterans, urging them to fight for the benefits others receive.

"That's the way our veterans were; they had purpose," he said.