9 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca Fighting to Reclaim a Dying Heritage By Melvin Swan It may have taken me 8 years to stand before the tribunal, but that doesn’t mean life completely stopped during that time. For the first 4 months after leaving the military, I lived as an idle hermit. I was depressed. The military had blackballed me so that I couldn’t work in law enforcement. When my second wife decided she was tired of seeing me mope around the house, she “encouraged” me to get a job. So, I became a youth mentor. I wanted to help boys recover from the day schools and reconnect with their First Nations heritage. The treaties, languages, and ceremonies didn’t just help them. They helped me more, as I recovered so much of the identity I’d lost in school and the military. All of that led me to bring Bold Eagle to Manitoba in 1993. The 7-week program, started in Saskatchewan, was like an Aboriginal boot camp for men and women between 16 and 29 years old. It combined basic military training with traditional teaching and elder support to restore young people’s sense of duty. Our youth have lost their warrior spirit. They’ve forgotten who they are and why that matters. They’ve lost touch with their truth. Bold Eagle was a tool to help them rediscover that truth and to take it with them into the military and law enforcement. Since I left Bold Eagle in 2011, I’ve been involved in many organizations and efforts to help my people reconnect with their heritage. I’ve also worked to strengthen Canada by raising awareness of this nation’s First Nations and Aboriginal people. I’ve served as a board member for Aboriginal Languages of Manitoba, Spiritual Leader for Spirit Wind, Vice President of the First Nations Veterans of Canada, and Lake Manitoba Counsellor. Our Aboriginal communities are struggling. After my father—Chief Raymond Swan—died in 1993, I’ve noticed a slide in leadership. My father was a strong leader; everyone and everything had to go through him before touching our community. Today, our leaders have lost a sense of their responsibility to the people and the culture. I have the utmost respect for these men, but they often see themselves more as a mayor than a chief.We need better. We need to reconnect with our heritage. Our people are sick; there’s a hopelessness in our communities. The earth is poisoned. We need healing. Discovering a Faithful Band of Brothers After my stroke, I was entirely on my own. When the hospital discharged me, I had no assistance from the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) or Veterans Affairs Canada Continued . . .
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