Growing up in rural Newfoundland, Two-Spirit Indigenous Veteran Sharp Dopler had a curious mind and a gift for learning.

Dopler was born into a military family of Irish and Aniuyunwiya/Meskwakie/Ashkwakie descent, and despite passing as white, they experienced frequent acts of racial discrimination.

Although they were given unconditional acceptance and love by their family, Dopler’s self-esteem suffered. They said they never “really felt seen or good at anything.”

But that changed in 1974 when, at age 11, they decided to follow their father’s footsteps and join the cadets. At that time, Dopler was among the first group of girls accepted into the Sea Cadets. They adapted quickly, realizing their leadership potential and, for the first time, felt like they had accomplished something. The doubt, shame and confusion they grew up with fell away when they donned that military uniform.

“When I put on that uniform, all the noise dropped away,” they said.

Dopler’s dedication during their decade as a cadet led them to become a full-fledged member of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983 as a Navy officer within the Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC).

That’s when they were asked the question: “Are you gay?”

“We all got asked the question and we all knew it was bad to be gay. Don't get caught.”

At the time, Dopler said no. In fact, they never considered their sexuality. And it wasn’t until meeting their spiritual advisor shortly after joining that they realized their true identity.

“It's not for me to determine whether or not you might be gay,” Dopler recalled their priest saying.

“But…if you are, God made that too, and it's okay.”

Initially, they flourished as a CIC instructor, working in annual summer camp programs and building relationships with cadets. Many would bypass the camp chaplain and seek advice and support from Dopler.

“[Those cadets] helped me to grow. They helped me to figure out who I'm supposed to be, even back then,” they said.

While Dopler never purposely revealed their identity in the military, they never lied about who they were either. Because of this, they continued to experience bullying and harassment from those who knew. Rumours started swirling.

Some of the worst bullying they experienced came from fellow queer soldiers.

“[They] were desperate to protect themselves…because we all knew what would happen.”

Over the years, the abuse got worse.

During JOST training, they were sexually assaulted by a course officer. Later on, it nearly happened again, by a man who had been their commanding officer (CO) as a cadet.

The breaking point came during a camp program, where one of Dopler’s employees was disciplined and eventually dismissed by the CO. As a result, the employee and his girlfriend filed abuse claims against Dopler. The allegations sparked a military police investigation. Officers interrogated Dopler for four hours.

“They seemed to be unable to put together that this man and this woman were connected and that there might be an agenda,” they said.

A closeted gay officer revealed to Dopler the case was being pushed because their commander wanted Dopler gone.

Dopler spent two years fighting the case. During that time, they were in line to be promoted to commanding officer of the cadet corps. Instead, they were forced to work in a subordinate position. At that point, Dopler was considered “damaged goods.”

In 1997, Dopler was finally cleared of wrongdoing. Their time in the Forces came to an end after 14 years of service. While their release papers say they voluntarily retired, but Dopler describes themselves as purged.

“It was not my choice to leave the Canadian Armed Forces. That's my truth.”

After being purged, Dopler felt stripped of their identity. For the next two decades they worked a variety of outreach jobs, hiding their trauma. In that time, CIC Veterans could not access the same supports as regular force Veterans.

Then, in 2017, the Government of Canada delivered a formal apology to 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and created the LGBT Purge Fund. This allowed Dopler to deal with their trauma and led to a PTSD diagnosis. They became a board member of Rainbow Veterans of Canada, dedicated to supporting Purge survivors and Veterans who identify as 2SLGBTQI+.

They embraced their Indigenous identity, returned to school to become a psychotherapist, then became an advocate and educator for cultural competency, Indigenous history, health education and anti-oppression.

“I have been in a state of constantly reinventing myself,” they said.

In 2022, Dopler opened their private practice in Ottawa, specializing in providing trauma-informed support for Veterans, particularly queer Veterans.

Dopler is honoured to be considered a Traditional Knowledge Keeper and Carrier of Ceremony in the Ottawa community. Though Dopler admits to struggling with their identity as a Veteran, they are proud of what they accomplished.

“If I was asked to put on a uniform, I probably would. Even now,” they said.

“Remember that we're human beings.”

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Sharp Dopler is leaving their mark. They are one of our Canadian Armed Forces members. Discover more stories.

The well-being of Canadian Veterans is at the heart of everything we do. As part of this, we recognize, honour and commemorate the service of all Canadian Veterans. Learn more about the services and benefits that we offer.