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Decoteau, Alex

Date of birth:
November 19th, 1887 (Red Pheasant First Nation/Saskatchewan, Canada )
Date of death:
October 17th, 1917 (Passchendaele/West-Vlaanderen, Belgium)
Buried on:
Passchendaele New British Cemetery
Plot: 11. Row: A. Grave: 22.
Service number:
231462
Nationality:
Canadian

Biography

Alex Decoteau was a Cree-Canadian athlete, policeman and soldier, born on 19 November 1887 on the Red Pheasant First Nation in Saskatchewan. In 1911, he became the first indigenous police officer in Canada with the Edmonton police. He was also a talented long-distance runner who represented Canada at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. During World War I, he served voluntarily in the Canadian army and died on 30 October 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium.

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Sources