Without providing a source, a new book claims Native soldiers from Canada "scalped" captives during the European theater of World War II.

"Normandy" by Olivier Wieviorka is an account of the events leading to D-Day. “Some Canadian soldiers of native Indian origin scalped their captives," the book states, a claim that is being dismissed as racist and unfounded.

“Regina Rifles, those that landed in Normandy, were comprised of many, many native soldiers who were trappers, hunters, fishers, labourers, and young men who walked out to join the Canadian military and served with honour and the racist comments (scalping) are doing them a disservice," Alex Maurice, the president of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association, told the Canadian Press.

Historians and expers say they have never found a case of scalping. “I have never heard any such allegations — and I presume that I would have “The unsubstantiated rumours peddled by authors like Wieviorka — who fail to even cite their sources — should be dismissed with the disdain that they deserve," Whitney Lackenbauer, a historian University of Waterloo who has extensively studied Native veterans, told the CP.

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WWII scalping claim dismissed as ‘racist’ (CP 11/8)