Humans of Saskatoon: Hilliard P. Kahpeaysewat

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Moe
Morin is a freelance writer and photographer and the co-founder of Humans of
Saskatoon. She photographs and interviews people and run their stories on her
highly popular Facebook page. This month she talked to Afghanistan war veteran
Hilliard P. Kahpeaysewat about his experiences. Below are his unedited words.

My name is Cpl.
Hilliard P. Kahpeaysewat, and I’m the first Afghanistan war veteran from
Moosomin First Nation which is near North Battleford, SK., and served in the
1st Battalion, PPCLI . On September 1, 2009 I was shipped to Southern
Afghanistan close to the Pakistani border in the Panjwai district but we moved
around a lot. I left and came back to Canada on April 15, 2010.

The fifth day I
arrived in Afghanistan, an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) was shot at me, and
blew up right next to where I was standing. I remember that there were kids
close by, and that this was a war zone but something they lived with everyday.
It makes an individual really think, and to see that this is something that they
live with everyday of their lives. The last person to conquer these people was
Alexander the Great.

The Afghanistan
people dream about being Canadians, and the Canadian soldiers worked hard to
build a trust with them. We walked with young women and girls to school, to
ensure they could attend school on a daily basis. The Taliban didn’t allow
women to attend school, so we walked with them.

Being a soldier has
taught me to be more accepting of people, and I didn’t experience any type of
racism during my tour. Other non-Aboriginal soldiers often smudged with me. For
us it was a safety thing. We smudged together so that we could be granted a
safe patrol, and we did this to have a sense that the Creator was watching over
us.

Any tour of duty is a
humbling experience, and it becomes a journey. Each of us has to go through a
journey. When I joined the army, I was 35 years of age, and a very bad
alcoholic. I had seen a lot of trauma, and experienced a lot of trauma at home
too. I basically woke up one day and decided I needed to change my life.
Enlisting changed my life. Enlisting saved my life and if you’re an alcoholic,
the Army will assist you in conquering your addiction.

I also seen poverty
while I was in Afghanistan, real poverty. I’ve seen poverty here but nothing
like I seen while in Afghanistan. There is no clean drinking water, no plumbing
to speak of and there was lots of malaria. I experienced loneliness there but
chose to stay.

One of the things I
did on my return in 2010, I went south to California and trained Americans. I
would like everyone to remember, especially the children that we veterans went
and fought for our country. Your country. It is my hope that Canada remembers
us, and appreciates the sacrifices we have made so that all can be free, and to
live the way the Creator intended us all to live.

When I returned home,
I didn’t believe I was a veteran but the Elder’s pulled me aside, and said that
my role now; a role model. My journey isn’t completed, and I’m also called
Eshaw-key-hew; Yellow-Eagle. I went to Afghanistan to free other people but I
also went to free myself.

Related story:


Humans of Saskatoon: Ray Sanderson