Red Crow Community College in Standoff, Alta. suffered a great loss when a fire destroyed its campus two years ago, but the institution isn’t letting its own loss stop it from honouring First Nations soldiers who served and sacrificed for Canada.
“Many of our members have served in the conflicts, past and present, and we take great pride in honouring those people,” Roy Weasel Fat, the president of Red Crow College, said on Friday.
It’s one of the first events the college has held in its temporary location since the devastating fire.
A Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday offered a chance for students, faculty and community members to recognize the longstanding tradition of First Nations in Canada’s military.
“Most of our vets on our reserve from the First World War and the Second World War have passed on,” said Jonathan Wiess, director of program development at Red Crow College. “Our vets now are mostly from the Korean War, possibly from Vietnam and Afghanistan.”
At least 4,000 First Nations soldiers fought for Canada in the First World War, including Preston Crow Chief’s great grandfather.
“Whenever I go to Remembrance Days, I always think of my great grandpa, and even when I was overseas I called out his name, just for protection,” Crow Chief said.
Once part of the Kainai Cadet Corps, Crow Chief joined the 20th Independent Field Battery in Lethbridge 12 years ago, recently completing a tour in Afghanistan.
“It went from, ‘You’re leaving Canada and all your training is now going to be used in the theatre of operation,'” he said. “There was a lot of emotion like, ‘I might not go home, or I might go home different.'”
When he returned, things were different. Crow Chief faced a new challenge, seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I just didn’t feel like myself,” Crow Chief said. “I just felt a disconnect from the world and myself really, it took a long time to realize what was going on.”
As the wreaths were laid on behalf of those who have sacrificed their lives, Crow Chief now looks to a new generation of soldiers looking to follow in his footsteps.
“Hopefully I can be an elder to future generations from my reserve… who are going to go, and hopefully, I can help them make that decision and coach them through those times.”
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