Southern Chiefs' Organization pitches in to help care for First Nations evacuees staying in southern Manitoba

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 3:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The Southern Chiefs' Organization is stepping successful to enactment First Nations residents forced retired of their homes by wildfires successful Manitoba, helping to run reception centres, administer supplies and supply on-site information successful confederate Manitoba extracurricular Winnipeg.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee says his organization, which represents 26 bluish First Nations, has been helping evacuees fleeing from communities affiliated with MKO, including Pimicikamak, Mathias Colomb (Pukatawagan) and Tataskweyak, successful caller weeks. 

But the evacuation process has been a "massive undertaking" for the organization.

"There were a batch of things we were doing — supplies, accommodations, essentials that everyone needed," Settee said astatine a quality league Friday.

"We cannot bash this unsocial and nary 1 tin bash it alone."

With thousands of First Nations radical inactive displaced, the Southern Chiefs' Organization is taking implicit co-ordination of evacuee supports for those staying successful Brandon, Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Winkler and Morden, Settee said.

"We privation to beryllium present for you. We're present to help," SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said astatine the quality conference.  

The organization, which represents 32 First Nations successful confederate Manitoba, volition assistance with regular cognition of reception centres, organisation of supplies and on-site information for evacuees staying successful those 4 communities extracurricular Winnipeg, a quality merchandise said.

MKO volition proceed supporting First Nations evacuees staying successful Manitoba's capital, Settee said. 

The Canadian Red Cross is inactive starring the evacuee operation with municipalities, but First Nations groups, including some the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and SCO, are filling gaps erstwhile they appear, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak said. 

So far, 21,000 radical forced from their homes by wildfires successful Manitoba successful caller weeks person registered with the Canadian Red Cross.

A spokesperson for the Red Cross said it is operating a reception centre successful Brandon, portion teams from the enactment are visiting sites successful Portage la Prairie, Dauphin, Brandon, Winkler and Morden to guarantee evacuees person the assistance they need. 

The enactment said it is encouraged by MKO's announcement and is moving on with Indigenous assemblage enactment to enactment wildfire evacuees successful Manitoba. 

Both MKO and SCO person besides been collecting donations for evacuees. They are inactive successful the request of immoderate items, including babe supplies, underwear and hygiene products

"It's bully to spot that Manitoba has stepped up," Settee said. "Our radical are not unsocial successful this struggle."

The evacuees SCO is helping successful Brandon, Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Winkler and Morden are staying successful hotels and successful congregate shelters, Settee said.

Premier Wab Kinew touted the thought of utilizing the province's exigency powers to escaped up much edifice rooms successful Manitoba for wildfire evacuees, arsenic immoderate families proceed to sleep on cots.

When asked astir Kinew's comments, Daniels said edifice owners should retrieve the state is successful the mediate of a crisis, and they "should emergence to the occasion."