National Tribute Auction

This stunning Veteran created original art piece measures 17.5 x 17.5 inches and is ready to hang on your wall! Roland was born in Toronto at St. Michaels Hospital to Victoria and Alfonse. Roland was in foster care as a baby before being adopted by Harold and Rita at the age of three. He spent many years living in the Garden River First Nations community of Sault Ste. Marie. Roland is Anishinaabe-Ojibwe. His birth family are from Kaboni, a small community located within the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on the eastern peninsula of Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Roland feels he is still learning about and connecting with his Anishinaabe-Ojibwe culture. Roland joined the Canadian Army at 17. He was a mechanic and driver in the 26th Service Battalion Maintenance Company, spending time based in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and Camp Borden. He served from 1977 to 1987. Roland has travelled across Canada twice, at times hitchhiking. He has lived in Winnipeg, Churchill, Gatineau, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver but always made his way back to Toronto. Roland worked many physically demanding jobs over the years; tobacco picking in Tillsonburg, tree planting north of Chapleau, working with his brother Glen as an arborist in Sault Ste. Marie, and unloading train boxcars in the Algoma district, a job that allowed him to sometimes eat and sleep on the train. Roland suffered a stroke in 2023 which caused left side paralysis and led him to move to Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in 2024. Roland has dabbled in painting over the years, and since his move to Sunnybrook Veterans Centre has been participating in art therapy regularly, learning to paint with his right hand and trying a variety of different materials. In his younger days, Roland enjoyed playing hockey, biking, fishing, hunting and swimming. Today, Roland still loves to be outside in nature. He is very fond of animals, enjoys watching movies, and loves having coffee with friends.