Philip and Michel Blas live in the Peepeekisis First Nations in Saskatchewan, and in a year, everyone has climbed to the top of the Qu’Appelle valley.

Although not as famous as Mount Everest, the couple chose a hill with a long history.

The Lebret mountain is located in the Qu’Appelle valley. There is a small church on three-quarters of the road, and the station at the crossroads marks the steep path.

In addition to fitness, Philip and Michel’s pursuit of conquering the hills has also become a way to retake the hills.

Lebret Indian Boarding School is located near the mountain. The children of Peepeekisis, Okanese, Star Blanket and Little Black Bear aboriginal people have been taken from their homes for generations and sent to that school or other similar schools in the area. These include Philip’s parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

The survivor tells of Lebret Hill being used as punishment. The children of Lebret School are forced to climb steep hills and sometimes kneel.

“I know that for many of us, their connection with this mountain is not good. This is a place full of painful memories.” Philip said. “But it is important for our generation-they are the first people who were not stolen from our family and forced to go to that school-to regain space and start over as our land. And began to build a new legacy.”

Michelle says she treats climbing as a spiritual exercise.

“I will climb and consider the children who must climb it,” she said.

“I will pray when I rise.”

Michelle said that sometimes boarding school survivors would contact on Facebook to thank the couple for helping them understand the place better.

Health pursuit

This mountain against the deep blue sky of Saskatchewan is a photo worthy of a calendar. For this couple, this is an easy choice because it is open to the public. It is also on the way to Philip and Prairie Valley School of Cooperation.

It started as a search for Philip, who suffered from severe back pain.

“I want to make up for my weak back and weak core, so I need to develop leg strength.”

He ultimately hopes to maintain a better condition during the hunting season. Philip has been an avid hunter all his life, and now Michelle has also started. The couple are advocates of indigenous food sovereignty and traditional indigenous customs.

Philip said: “I want to train my body in a certain way to prepare me for weight-bearing activities.”

Philip started climbing the mountain in August 2019 and quickly set a goal of 200 mountain climbing a year. When the climb became too easy, he started to run 78 meters. His personal best is 2 minutes 58 seconds.

When he is not running, he lifts weights up the mountain to replicate the process of packing large animals after a successful hunt. Gradually, he can go up and down the mountain with a 48 kg backpack. This is more than half of his body weight.

Philip’s enthusiasm is very attractive. Other friends and family, including Michelle and their son, began to climb the summit frequently. Michelle admitted that it was difficult the first time.

“At first I just wanted to reach the top without fainting,” she said. “But once you get there, the view will be amazing.”

Michelle said they just kept going.

“We went again and again, and I just started to feel better,” she said.

Winter climbing

Michelle also set himself a goal of 200 climbs a year. Achieving their goals means going in winter, sometimes back to back twice or three times. Philip said that his coldest day was 43 degrees Celsius. Earlier this year, the province experienced a month-long polar vortex, and Michel had to climb the mountain many times.

Both achieved their goals. Philip was the first to get there before he started. They climbed more than 31,000 meters together, which is mathematically equivalent to climbing Mount Everest more than 3 times.

Although they bravely got frostbite, at least they don’t need Sherpas or hypoxia to accomplish their feat. It may be a recognition of fitness at first, but there will be a sense of accomplishment when completing a difficult goal. As the Everest climbing celebrity Sir Edmund Hillary said, we are not conquering the mountains, but ourselves.

Anyone affected by the boarding school experience and those affected by the latest report can receive support.

A nationwide Indian boarding school crisis hotline has been established to provide support to former students and those affected. People can call the 24-hour national crisis hotline: 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services.