Reserve land was taken for military bases or given to non-aboriginals. Status Indians got less money than non-aboriginal servicemen to start a new life and received none of the spousal benefits, education, training or jobs given to their comrades.

Many have since accepted compensation from Ottawa but are far from healed.

"There's a lot of hurt out there," Eagle, a 73-year-old Cree elder, said in an interview from his home in Yellowknife. "There are a lot of issues that will be with people for a long time."

That troubled history is, in part, what motivated Eagle and other elders and aboriginal veterans organizations to plan a spiritual journey to Canadian war memorial sites in France and Belgium.

The delegation of aboriginal veterans, elders, dancers and musicians leaves Ottawa on Wednesday for an eight-day trip to highlight the contribution native soldiers made in the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean War.

"The general public doesn't understand," said Eagle, who spent 25 years in the military.

"They thought Indians stayed on the reserves and that was it, but over 5,000 aboriginal veterans were killed in both wars."

The 300-member delegation - funded by $1.5 million from Veterans Affairs - includes 20 First Nations, Metis and Inuit vets from the Second World War, 14 aboriginal youths and dozens of elders, dancers and musicians.

Highlights of the trip include a calling-home ceremony, which will incorporate First Nations, Metis and Inuit customs and traditions to put the spirits of fallen soldiers to rest with their ancestors in Canada.

An Inuit Inuksuk will be built on the grounds of the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, the site of Canada's greatest contribution to D-Day.

It's unclear how many aboriginals fought for Canada in the three major conflicts but the number is believed in the thousands. More than 500 known aboriginal war dead are buried in war cemeteries around the world.

Elmer Sinclair is one of the lucky ones who came home alive.

Sinclair, a Cree from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, says he's eager to make his first trip back to Europe, where he served as a radio operator with the Signal Corps in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

"I'd just like to go now and see what the place looks like . . . to look around at the cemeteries and just remember," said Sinclair, who has spent the last 19 years in Nanaimo, B.C.

Sinclair has only good memories of his treatment by his non-aboriginal comrades and superiors. "I was always just another soldier," said Sinclair.

When he came home, Sinclair said he made sure he got all the benefits he was entitled to by seeking out information and filling out the necessary applications. But he knows a lot of people, especially those who returned to live on the reserve, were left in limbo.

While he's glad to be part of the delegation, Sinclair says he's not sure he'll embrace the spiritual aspect of the trip.

"I don't really see what the purpose is," said Sinclair. "I think the whole thing is being stretched an awful lot now because in the Second World War you never heard the term aboriginal."

Aboriginal veterans have returned to Europe before, as part of larger delegations to mark the 50th, 55th and 60th anniversaries of D-Day and Victory in Europe Day.

But this is the first trip that recognizes solely the aboriginal contribution.

Military historian Terry Copp said aboriginals played a significant role in the Second World War, especially in the infantry units that did the bulk of the fighting.

However, in the past it would have been inconceivable to single out the aboriginal contribution because veterans have always been considered part of their regimental family.

"It's a completely new idea that what ties these veterans together is not their experience in a unit, but rather their common identity as aboriginals," said Copp, director of the Laurier Centre for Military and Disarmament Studies.

"What we're doing is creating a new memory of the Second World War."

But the trip's themes resonate strongly with traditional dancer Howard Cameron.

He expects he'll be overwhelmed by emotion when the spirit of his grandfather, who was killed in action in France, is finally called home to the Beardys First Nation in Duck Lake, Sask.

Cameron, who will serve as master of ceremonies for his group of 12 traditional dancers and musicians, says everyone in the group has a family connection to either the First or Second World Wars.

"There's always been that void, knowing a relative of ours was killed in action, and not having that true ceremony to bring closure to the family," said Cameron.

"My generation now has that opportunity to do the ceremony on behalf of the family, but most importantly, on behalf of the community and fill that void."