Local Indigenous Elder Honoured at Calgary’s Top 7 Over 70 Awards for Long-Time Community Work

At 73 years old, Miiksika’am believes he has a responsibility to share the stories of his life, which include attending a residential school in Alberta as a child, joining the military, becoming a councillor and running the police force on Siksika Nation, near Calgary.

“There’s four seasons to your life. [My age] puts me in the winter part of my years,” Miiksika’am, a Siksika elder whose anglicized name is Clarence Wolfleg, said in an interview.

“I believe when you reach that age and you have lived quite a full life, that’s the time to give back.”

Miiksika’am, whose name means “Red Crane,” is among the recipients of the Top 7 Over 70 awards, which launched in Calgary four years ago as a way to recognize achievements of older individuals. The 2021 winners were announced on Wednesday and the awards will be formally handed out at an event in May.

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