Canadian Forces can represent the epitome of national identity. But some in uniform have an even deeper connection with country than the flag on their shoulder.

Sgt. Chance Letendre with First Battalion PPCLI is one of those soldiers.

“I grew up around Grande Prairie, Beaverlodge area. If you know the area, it’s oil or trades, basically, down there. I just wanted to do something different,” said Letendre who, despite not having treaty status, identifies strongly as Plains Cree Indian.

“If you look at me you can tell I’m an Indian.

‘‘That’s one of the things a lot of guys are surprised by is that I tell them I don’t have a status card, I don’t have a treaty card. They’re like, ‘Really? you look full-blooded,’” he said.

Letendre, now 27, joined in 2005 but made little effort to find other aboriginal people in the forces.

“I never looked around to try to familiarize myself with somebody with the same background. I just became instantly friends with everyone and they were the same with me.

‘‘Being the only one there made me even more proud to know I was this way,” he added.

He feels proud to have moved up in the ranks so quickly and now feels a sense of responsibility to show young people from his background what they can achieve through military services.

“When I was young, I had nobody to ask, nobody to turn to for any type of information besides the Internet or anything I could get my hands on to read.

‘‘So anyone I see around that wants to know, I give them the best information I can,” he said.

Though he admits he thought there might be some hurdles to overcome coming from an aboriginal background, he said they never surfaced.

In his nine years of service, including Afghanistan, he has always felt at home in the uniform and says background doesn’t play a role in a young soldier’s potential.

“All it comes down to is what kind of person you are and how you represent yourself,” he tells young people who approach him today.

“Once you’re in, just keep on going. I know there may be times when it will get tough. But don’t quit.

‘‘You’ll get to where you want to be and you’ll be happy once you get there.”