Op-ed: Fire evacuation do's & don't's
- John Lagimodiere | July 13, 2015
It has been a harsh summer so far. The north is burning and abandoned. Evacuees are filling centres, hotels and basements in cities to the south and people’s nerves are frayed. Some folks have been away from home for two weeks, leaving home with barely a bag of clothes. Sadly there is no end in sight.
Facebook has become the defacto source of spreading and finding news about the fires. Sometimes true, sometimes not. There is just so much misinformation out there it is overwhelming. Lac la Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson has emerged as a true leader and her use of Facebook to communicate has been effective and thorough. Many groups are using Facebook to rally the troops and organize events. But then there are some yahoos on Facebook who attack those trying to help their community or spread rumours and hate. With all this misinformation out there, I figured I would make a list of fire and evacuation do’s and dont’s.
Do...get information from Chief Tammy Cook-Searson’s Facebook or the Province of Saskatchewan, other northern leaders or reputable news outlets.
Do not....read on your cousin's friend's Facebook that a house burned down and declare to the world that Montreal Lake has burned to the ground....and if you read that on a friend's Facebook, verify it with someone legit....save us all some panic.
Do...give of your time or your resources to the evacuees. Life in a shelter is miserable...no matter how hard the hosts are trying. Imagine sleeping on a stiff cot with 150 other people surrounding you and the noises we all make as we sleep. Boredom in the day is real and the need for supplies is real.
Don’t...donate to a random GoFundMe page that is set up to raise money for evacuees. The Tribal Councils are handling matters in P.A., Regina and Saskatoon and the FSIN is communicating well about where to direct donations.
Do...cut the Red Cross and Salvation Army some slack. They are working as hard as they can with strict mandates and a few rumours out there are riling up ill feelings. Not helpful at this time.
Don’t...tear people down out there.
Do...be grateful for the firefighters, heavy equipment operators, volunteers and leaders who have stayed behind to fight for our communities.
Don’t.....vote for Stephen Harper. He doesn’t really care.
Do....be hopeful. The community has continued to rise to the challenge. It is heartwarming to see so many stories of people giving and Beardy’s and Okemasis, James Smith and Muskeg Lake have all opened up their communities to evacuees. Everyone just has to keep giving and grinding. That and pray for rain.
*****
Now on a totally different note, the City of Saskatoon welcomed some international Indigenous visitors in June. His Worship Mayor Atchison toured Taiwan’s Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples delegation consisting of Minister Mayaw Dongi ,7 village mayors, two staff and an interpreter. The tour began June 18 with a trip to Wanuskewin. That followed with a tour of urban reserves and a presentation on the Urban Reserve model. They also had discussions on some best practices of Aboriginal inclusion in the community such as Aboriginal Pre-employment programs, the Treaty 6 and Métis Nation Flag raising and Aboriginal Awareness and cultural competencies training for city employees.
The delegation was then greeted by the host organization at the National Aboriginal Day celebration in Friendship Park. They were welcomed into the grand entry and honored by Senator Nora Cummings in the opening Prayer. Gifts were exchanged and many pictures were taken. The Minister addressed the crowd thanking them for their hospitality and talked about the indigenous people’s situation in Taiwan.
Minister Mayaw pointed out that Indigenous people in Taiwan control 46 per cent of the land base, yet they are still the poorest in the country. They are also having trouble with a registry and deciding who is actually Indigenous (sound familiar Métis Nation?). The Taiwan delegation even went to the Métis National Council and asked how they determine ancestry and status.
The tour continued on to meet with Chief Darcy Bear at Whitecap Dakota First Nation on Friday afternoon to learn about the development of their First Nation and their economic success.
The visitors were feted with gifts and praise and about a million pictures were taken...just another National Aboriginal Day in Saskatchewan.
Safe travels this summer and our thoughts are with the evacuees, fire fighters and volunteers in this very trying time.