As Canada marked the annual Aboriginal Veterans Day on Friday, Ontario MPP and Indigenous affairs minister Greg Rickford commended the country's Indigenous veterans for their military service.

"Ever since distinguishing themselves fighting alongside British soldiers in the War of 1812, Indigenous people have demonstrated their valour as they have continued to volunteer and sacrifice," Rickford said in a statement issued Friday. "Indigenous men and women have continued this tradition of enlisting to this day, being deployed by NATO, serving with the United Nations and other multinational peace support missions around the world."

Aboriginal Veterans Day is marked every Nov. 8.

Canada's national Aboriginal Veterans Monument is located in Ottawa; it was unveiled in 2001.

According to Veterans Affairs Canada, more than 7,000 First Nations members served in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War, along with an unknown number of Metis, Inuit, and other Indigenous people; it's estimated that 12,000 Indigenous people served in the three wars.