Clarence Wolfleg remembers the day his mother took him to school.

It was 1956 and for the next 5 1/2 years he attended the Old Sun Residential School outside Gleichen in southern Alberta.

B次元官网网址淢y first memory was when my mother suited me up in my finest B次元官网网址� my GWG denim jacket, my new pants and my little fedora hat. I said, B次元官网网址榃here am I going?B次元官网网址� She said, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檙e going to go to that place.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Wolfleg was 6 1/2 years old. He was able to earn high enough marks to attend a public school when he was 12.

He doesnB次元官网网址檛 say the name of the residential school. ItB次元官网网址檚 simply B次元官网网址渢hat place.B次元官网网址�

Wolfleg, 72, shared some of his not-so-fond memories on Tuesday before Mount Royal University in Calgary bestowed him with an honorary doctor of laws degree for his efforts as an elder and spiritual adviser.

B次元官网网址淚t was horrible in a sense that I could not connect with my language to soothe my pain. I couldnB次元官网网址檛 cry because they told me you canB次元官网网址檛 cry, so my emotions was hidden inside of me,B次元官网网址� he said.

WolflegB次元官网网址檚 mother gave some older boys B次元官网网址渁 few dollarsB次元官网网址� to protect him from some of the priests and other students. Leaving the institution is one of his better memories.

B次元官网网址淭he most happiest moment I had was when I left there andB次元官网网址� I wasnB次元官网网址檛 going back. I looked back and said, B次元官网网址榃ell, you didnB次元官网网址檛 get the best of me. IB次元官网网址檓 still alive. My spirit is still with me.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�

Wolfleg said when he first entered the school, he committed to following his fatherB次元官网网址檚 example of joining the military and becoming a spiritual leader to his people.

He accomplished both.

Word that remains believed to be of Indigenous children were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School has reawakened other memories for Wolfleg, known as MiiksikaB次元官网网址檃m in Blackfoot.

B次元官网网址淚 had to think about three girls that were found not even 300 yards from (my) school,B次元官网网址� said Wolfleg.

B次元官网网址淭hey ran away from school and the house they went to was just a quarter-mile down the road. A heavy snowstorm hit and they were found huddled on a hilltop south of the school.

B次元官网网址淎 little girl in the middle, she survived, but the other two passed away.B次元官网网址�

University president Tim Rahilly said Wolfleg has become an icon at the institution and helped many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with his wisdom. He said the degree is the highest honour the school gives out and the decision was made long before the news out of Kamloops.

B次元官网网址淲e have been working for a long time on trying to recognize Indigenous ways of knowing and to recognize longer service of Indigenous folks in our community,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚 think the emotional weight of whatB次元官网网址檚 happened recently is something that is on all of our minds.B次元官网网址�

The graduation ceremony was not unlike a drive-in movie. Graduates sat in their cars watching the stage.

Chancellor Dawn Farrell paid tribute to residential schoolchildren as she addressed the graduates.

B次元官网网址淥ur hearts break for them, for their family, for their communities, for all of our residential school survivors and all of our Indigenous and First Nations people.B次元官网网址�

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

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