'Our ancestral lands are at stake': Wildfires burning close to Sask. First Nations

PRINCE ALBERT -

Elder Ernest Flett says the smoke from nearby wildfires is so thick in his home community of Shoal Lake Cree Nation that he couldn’t see the houses surrounding his own.

“You could see the smoke all over the place, it seems like a fog,” he described.

“I’m so worried about our homes. Our pet is still there, I hope he’s okay.”

Flett is one out of 581 people from Shoal Lake who have registered as evacuees fleeing the fires through the Canadian Red Cross, according to Chief Marcel Head. Flett is staying at a hotel in Prince Albert.

Red Earth Cree Nation has also evacuated about 600 people to Saskatoon.

As of Wednesday, Marcel said the fire was about 15 kilometres south of Shoal Lake.

“Being evacuated, it’s not something that’s really acceptable with our membership. Knowing that they’ve been displaced from the community, it’s pretty hard to literally say goodbye to your community and not knowing when to return,” Marcel said.

Beryl Whitecap has also been evacuated from Shoal Lake.

Elder Ernest Flett evacuated from Shoal Lake Cree Nation last Thursday to protect himself from heavy smoke. (Jayda Taylor/CTV News)

Elder Ernest Flett evacuated from Shoal Lake Cree Nation last Thursday to protect himself from heavy smoke. (Jayda Taylor/CTV News)

“It’s kind of unfortunate how that fire moves. It jumps from one end to the other because of the wind carrying those little sparks, so it’s kind of unpredictable,” she said.

Whitecap said she returned to the First Nation for one day to deliver food for the firefighters and could feel the heavy smoke scratching at her throat.

CALLS FOR MORE PROVINCIAL SUPPORT

Marcel and Red Earth Chief Fabian Head are calling on the provincial government to do more to protect Indigenous lands from wildfires.

“One elder text messaged me yesterday and seeing the aerial footage that I had shared on social media, he indicated that he was crying,” explained Fabian.

“He remembers, when he was trapping actively, those were the areas where his trap line was. It’s taking an emotional toll on our people.”

Marcel said as he was flying over the First Nation in a helicopter on Monday, he couldn’t see any provincial crews fighting the fire towards the north – only to the south, away from the community.

In a statement to CTV News, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said tanker, helicopter and ground crews are working to contain the fire.

Trained firefighters from both Shoal Lake and Red Earth Cree Nations, as well as Weyerhaeuser forestry staff and equipment, have also been deployed.

The SPSA said it took both chiefs on a tour of the fire on Monday afternoon.

“With a fire of this size and relatively poor air quality, it is possible that the chiefs did not see the equipment and crews that are responding to the fire,” reads the statement.

“Crews are being redeployed to the head of the fire, which is moving away from the communities at this time, so it’s also possible that the tour did not include that part of the fire. To ensure the safety of the helicopter and passengers, it is also possible that the pilot may have chosen not to fly in the area that was seeing aerial response.”

The SPSA said it remains in contact with community leaders and is available for support for evacuees if requested.

According to the SPSA’s website, the fire, named the Bell fire, measures 55,000 hectares. It’s about 3.5 kilometres away from Highway 55 and eight kilometres away from Highway 9.

Red Earth and Shoal Lake Cree Nations are located north of Hudson Bay.

Both communities also evacuated hundreds of people to Regina in July due to wildfires.