Wildfire evacuees in Niagara Falls, Ont., hotels support one another as many face culture shock
About 3,000 people from northern Manitoba, Ontario are staying in 1,500 hotel rooms
It's been about two weeks since wildfire evacuees from several First Nations started arriving in Niagara Falls, Ont. Since then, about 3,000 people from northern Manitoba and Ontario have been living in five hotels, and many will be there for the foreseeable future.
"I never expected to be here, but here we are," said Alberteen Spence of Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Manitoba.
It was good to get to safety, away from the smoke filling her community, Spence told CBC Hamilton, but it's been far from a vacation. The longer people have been away from home, the more they need supplies, things to do and support, she said Sunday.
On Tuesday, Spence said she received word she'll be able to head home within the next few days since Tataskweyak lifted its evacuation order Monday night.
About 22,000 Manitobans have been displaced by wildfire, though residents from about a dozen communities have been cleared to return home — including those from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, some of whom also came to Niagara Falls.
The area burned by wildfires so far this season is the second largest on record in Canada, according to government data. As of Friday, provincial wildfire data showed 21 fires across Manitoba, with seven out of control. The total number of fires to date was 117.
About 25 Manitoba communities were still under evacuation orders as of Monday, with officials warning some may need to be evacuated again if conditions change. In northern Ontario, over 2,000 people have been displaced.
'Everybody's kind of culture shocked'
"I didn't want to go. I thought I could tough it out," Spence said.
But as the situation grew more dangerous, she had to leave Tataskweyak, also known as Split Lake.
Spence receives social assistance and relies on traditional medicines for health needs, so it's been challenging to access what she needs to stay comfortable in the hotels. For example, she said she's been unable to get massage therapy for an old injury or to find food that suits her low-cholesterol diet.
"I wish I just had a nice brothy soup with some bannock."
Spence said her community also isn't used to some of the challenges specific to city life. For example, she said, it's been hard to access shared laundry machines in her hotel, so she's been washing her clothes in her bathtub. Street sounds and noise from people going in and out of their rooms at night have been waking her up.
Spence said she's also worried about the toll easy access to alcohol is having on members of her community, where drugs and alcohol are banned.
She said she recently intervened in a conflict on her floor one night in which members of a family were fighting.
"I don't speak for everybody, but from my point of view, we do have a lot of healing to do," Spence said.
Communities are already struggling with the intergenerational trauma of residential schools, she said, and some people may be triggered by the stress of evacuation and turning to alcohol or drugs to cope.
"Everybody's kind of culture shocked," said Ashley Charlette, an evacuee from Pukatawagan Cree Nation in Manitoba. "We come from a small isolated community and a lot of our people have barely left that little corner of earth up there in northern Manitoba.
"We're trying our best to get everybody the supports that they need," she told CBC Hamilton on Sunday. "There are a lot of connections being made and good things happening amidst the chaos."
Charlette works at community and wellness organization Wahkotowin Wellness and Prevention. Before the evacuation of Pukatawagan, also called Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, her team set up a community kitchen where people closest to the fires could go to safely eat and sleep.
"It was a beautiful thing to see," she said. "We usually find the good in all of these things. There were a lot of jokes, there was a lot of laughter … but it was a very scary time."
Now in Niagara Falls, Charlette continues in a helper role and is working to maintain that spirit. Alongside other community members, she's set up an office in one of the hotels from where they're doing wellness checks at each of the five hotels housing evacuees. They've also appointed community members to local security roles, working alongside Xpera — the private company contracted by Ontario and Manitoba to manage the evacuation.
A spokesperson for Niagara regional police told CBC Hamilton the service's community response unit and Indigenous liaison officers continue to "work closely with community members to address concerns as they arise."
Charlette said she's heard similar concerns to those expressed by Spence, and as problems come to the surface, she hopes people are sensitive to one another's needs.
"We just have to understand that some people are really struggling. These evacuees are having a really tough time and we're just trying to do our part to maybe make their lives a little easier while they're here," Niagara Falls fire department Chief Jo Zambito said.
Working alongside the provincial and federal government, Xpera, local agencies such as public health, and local Indigenous communities, Zambito is part of the local response to evacuees.
He said he believes they're doing a "good job" dealing with issues, noting Niagara Falls has welcomed displaced people before — including those affected by floods in 2023 and asylum seekers — due to the city's abundance of hotels.
About 1,500 hotel rooms were being used for evacuees as of Monday morning, Zambito said.
Evacuees appreciate being near the falls: Charlette
There are other benefits to staying in Niagara Falls.
Officials are working to get evacuees out to various local attractions so they don't get bored, Zambito said.
Spence said she and others enjoy seeing the fireworks above the falls each night.
Charlette said being on the Niagara River has been positive for members of her community, who are used to being near water.
"I think the falls give comfort to a lot of our people, and once you see [them], you kind of feel OK inside."
On Sunday, some evacuees came together to hold a Father's Day event in the parking lot of a hotel, featuring games, prizes and card-making.
How to help
There's been a lot of interest from locals in supporting evacuees, Zambito said, noting he would soon be delivering a donation to children of handmade quilts and activities that he had received.
Members of Six Nations of the Grand River and others have organized drives for supplies in the past week or two —Charlette said they were a "huge success."
Zambito said monetary donations can go to the Canadian Red Cross, and asked prospective donors to check in with Xpera and evacuees to ask what items they need before delivering goods.
"Whatever is needed, we step up. That's what Niagara Falls does," the host city's mayor, Jim Diodati, told CBC Hamilton.
The municipal government has not been involved in the evacuation effort, he said, something he'd like to change so it can be "part of the solution."
As of Monday, Zambito said, he wasn't expecting more evacuees to arrive. He thinks hotels will be able to manage both evacuees and their usual guests as tourist season ramps up.
"There might be bumps along the way," he said. "All in all, I think Niagara Falls is stepping up to the challenge and helping our northern evacuees. We're happy to do so."
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With files from Caitlyn Gowriluk, Lauren Scott and Sarah Law