Skip to main content

Every summer, the Bold Eagle program takes Indigenous youth through the rigors of military training to teach leadership, teamwork and traditional culture

At the Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, powwow dancers pass Lorenzo Star Walker Charles as he holds the staff of the Bold Eagle military training program. Each year, Bold Eagle’s participants attend a powwow on one of the territories that make up the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, a partner in the program.

Five young participants of the Canadian Armed Forces Bold Eagle program gather around a map laid out on a grassy knoll. For the past four hours, the Indigenous youth, in full military gear, have been tasked with finding hidden dinner-plate-sized markers in the rolling hills and forests of Central Alberta, without GPS. Though they’re exhausted – physically and mentally – the previous five weeks of training has prepared them well.

The team is part of a wider group of applicants to the Bold Eagle program, which selects 100 Indigenous youth from Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario to take part in the competitive program every summer for the past 34 years.

In partnership with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, the six-week-long program based in the Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Central Alberta, is one of five regional programs across Canada that are made exclusively for Indigenous youth. It is first and foremost a youth development program that seeks to cultivate leadership, fitness, teamwork and resiliency.

Open this photo in gallery:

Lawrence Taylor Dolha is siloutetted by the Northern Lights during one of Bold Eagle's night navigation courses.

The program follows the CAF’s Primary Reserve Basic Military Qualifications format but weaves in cultural teachings and considerations for participants.

The first week is dedicated to teachings from Indigenous elders on self-discipline and teamwork. For the rest of the program, participants are put through standard military training, which involves weapon handling, drills, first aid, navigation, fieldcraft and survival skills.

There is no obligation to join the military afterward. Bold Eagle’s focus is on building skills and capacity in Indigenous youth at home and in their future careers, rather than recruitment.

“When these young people come back to their communities, they very quickly become leaders,” said commanding officer Major Ward Lenz.

Through Bold Eagle, the CAF has built an ever-adapting model of collaboration with their Indigenous partners and cultural advisers in the FISN, Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association and the Alberta Métis Veterans Association.

Michael Crowe rests his head as his platoon gets ready to set up their field camp. This is where they will spend the next three days during the Bold Eagle exercises.
Trey Hartfield knew little about his Métis heritage, and less about other Indigenous people near his home in Vermillion, Alta. He joined Bold Eagle because ‘I wanted to see how other Métis people and other Nations express their culture,’ he says.
Mayumi Willie from Port Hardy, B.C., is of Kwakwaka’wakw and Japanese descent, and says Bold Eagle gives her resilience and pride in her heritage. ‘People think our culture and language is dying out, but that’s not true. We’re working on revitalizing it.’
Ms. Willie checks her compass – ‘we’re definitely heading somewhere,’ she says, laughing – as she guides her squad to find dinner-plate-sized markers on the grounds of CFB Wainwright in Alberta.
A Bold Eagle instructor checks to see how accurately his charges are shooting at the range exercises. One participant, Dre Cranebear, had never fired a weapon before, and was initially fearful of the weapon, but completed the training and eventually the full program. ‘I deal with a lot of anxiety back home,’ he says. ‘I joined this program to see if it would help me overcome my fears. ... If I can do this, I can do anything.’
Soon after arriving at their field-exercise location, participants gather sage for bundles and discuss their cultures’ varied practices for offerings. Nevaeh Dahl, a Cree/Métis 16-year-old from Edmonton, stops to smudge. She says she ‘really connected’ with one of the two elders who gave spiritual guidance to Bold Eagle participants.
T. Charles counts out pushups during physical training. ‘This isn’t a summer camp,’ says Major Ward Lentz, a commander in the Bold Eagle program. ‘When they’re here they’re adults, they’re soldiers.’
Trey Hartfield eats bannock as his comrades celebrate the last night of the program. He plans on studying criminal justice in Lethbridge; while there, ‘I want to reach out to other Indigenous people.’
Aug. 10 is graduation day. This participant brought a Métis sash to the event, attended by lieutenants-governor Russ Mirasty of Saskatchewan and Salma Lakhani of Alberta, as well as Brigadier-General S.G Graham of 3rd Canadian Division.
Kayla Judge hugs her boyfriend after graduating with the Best Recruit and Warrior Spirit awards.
Maj. Lentz, right, salutes as Sergeant Major Jeremy Leblanc carries the Bold Eagle staff.

Interact with The Globe

Trending