Rifleman Steven M. Ross was born on the Montreal Lake Cree Reservation in Saskatchewan.

Fresh out of school and searching for opportunities in the 1960s, a young, curious Steven Ross walked into an army recruitment centre in Saskatoon.  According to Steven, this was a choice that “forever changed my life.”  He recalls “There was no employment in my home community of Montreal Lake at that time, so I tried travelling around the province.  One day I was walking around Saskatoon, saw the army recruitment centre and walked in, just to enquire.”

Steven enlisted and served in The Queens Own Rifles of Canada. His tour of duty included United Nations Peace Keeping Duty in Cyprus. He attributes where he is today to his service.

“It changed my thinking. I learned to be disciplined and focused, and I developed better thinking skills.”

He suggests that the choice to join the armed forces creates a lot of opportunities for young people with lots of available training and access to education. “I often wonder where I would have ended up if I had just stayed in Montreal Lake. When I joined, then I had a future – I had something to live for.”

Steven M. Ross was elected to the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association to serve as the Grand Chief on March 31, 2015. He has been an active member of the SFNVA for 15 years.

He serves on the Elder’s Advisory Council for the Montreal Lake First Nation.