[00:00:24] Speaker A: Stories of climate crises across North America. This series is part of the Community Podcast initiative in partnership with the Climate Disaster Project.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: We're your hosts, Shawanda Bachat and I'm.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Amy Osnis, and in today's episode, we.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Will be discussing Alberta flood in 2013 and the communities affected. The Bow River is 587 km in length and flows from the mountains in Bam, down through the prairies, supplying water for hydroelectricity, irrigation, municipal and industrial uses. During the summer of 2013, heavy continuous rainfall caused the river levels to rise, resulting in a flood that left the province of Alberta with over $5 billion worth of damage.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: A devastating flood. Albertans are reminded of the event and the damage it caused for communities such as High River and Bright Creek. But often forgotten in discussion is damage that this flood caused for families living throughout Alberta's. Blackfoot Reservation sixika Nation, a reservation located an hour east of Calgary, lost approximately 300 homes during the flood in 2013, destroyed beyond repair, sixica families directly affected by the flood were displaced and for some time almost forgotten.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: In today's episode, we will be learning about the Sikska flood from two different angles. Warren Drunken Chief, a sixkA housing coordinator, will discuss how his family was affected and the complexities the nation faced in dealing with the flood. We will be also talking to Giselle Smith, a registered nurse and Sixiga's former public health team leader who shares how the nation managed the crisis.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: And now here's my interview with Warren drunken chief.
So Warren, can you tell me about who you are?
[00:02:15] Speaker C: So my name is Warren drunken Chief. I'm from Six God Nation and I currently work for Six Guy Nation Housing. So at the time, 2013 16, I happened to be one of the homeowners that lost his home completely to the flood.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Can you tell me a bit about who you were growing up?
[00:02:34] Speaker C: I was a Six Gard Nation member, grew up on the east side. They called our valley Little Washington. That's on the east side of Sixigad Nation, closer to Bozano. And that's where I grew up on the nation through my education, my elementary, junior high and high school, then eventually moved away for a bit there and then eventually came back home.
[00:02:57] Speaker D: Warren tells me about his career and his home life.
[00:03:00] Speaker C: Yeah, before the flood, I've been in construction now for 40 years, so it's been a long journey. So that's what I'm still doing is in construction that's prior. And then after the flood, I became a leader for three years, politics, 2013 to 2016 and then I stepped down and then I came back to work for the housing again for the nation. Other than work, I was a family man. I had a beautiful wife and we have eight kids and we had at the time, I think, four grandchildren. We just live in life, we live off the land, we hunt, we fish, we play sports in the backyard. And just enjoy life and work around the house, cut grass, sliding. So that's how it's been, I guess.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: So busy.
[00:03:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: So at the time of the flood your kids were all grown up or were any still in the house?
[00:03:52] Speaker C: Yeah. Actually, during the flood, I had Matthew, Matthew, Isaac and Buck. They were all underage, all under 18.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: Can you tell me what sixika was like before the flood?
[00:04:07] Speaker C: Yeah. Sixiga nation had its own areas. We have our own areas. Like we call Little Chicago. We call South Camp Washington. Little Washington. We had north camp, Muskrat Village, west end, east end. So that's how sixGA nation is. It's comprised of a lot of communities. Portigo Flats, Crowfoot, near Bazana. Quite a few. About four communities for sure are along the Bow River, little Washington, South Camp, Orego Flats and Chicago. Mostly those four are along the Bow River.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: And so where were you when the flood happened?
[00:04:45] Speaker C: Yeah, when the flood happened I was at home because I got warned that I should be know, getting ready, prepared if anything was to happen. And we were actually just in a room watching news. We kept driving back and forth to the bridge, which is about 2 miles away from our house, just to watch the Bow River as it rose. But we were thinking that it's going to rise, it won't hit us because we were far away from the Bow River, but we're still in the valley. So our automatic thinking was, there's no way it's going to hit us. Yeah, we were just relaxing, watching TV, and boom, next thing you know we got our neighbor knocking the water, bust through this one area and the water is going to eventually hit yours. So sure enough, later on that evening we packed what we could and boom, we got hit with the flood.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Wow, okay, so it definitely wasn't an expected thing for you?
[00:05:31] Speaker C: No, not at all, because just because of where we're located, just below the hill and then you go further down, we're kind of a higher elevation and the Bo River is like a lot lower. So in the past it's never hit that area, it's never flooded that area. So it flooded the ones along the Bow River before, maybe twice, and then people had backups in their sewer. But this was the ultimate and it took all the houses right below the hill up to mine and then the full community of Washington. That's how that ended up with the flood.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: How many other communities, was it just mainly Washington or were there other communities within that also were affected?
[00:06:09] Speaker C: I believe there was 144 homes hit that lost their homes. So it was funny how the flood did the damage because some houses got washed out and then the ones that got flooded into basements up to the main floor. By the time he got back, the power was out, the electricity, there was no heat of course, nothing going on in these houses. So after everyone evacuated, the people also got affected because of the mold that sat in, obviously the health concerns, which is hepatitis C from the sewer, sewer backup and all that kinds of strain of hepatitis, different sorts of health, I guess, health viruses that can hurt us as a family or as a human. So that's what happened. And there was, like I said, four communities for sure, and then it just spread from there.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: So do you know roughly how many people then had to completely evacuate?
[00:07:03] Speaker C: Yeah, from what I understand, I could remember, there was over 800. Over 800. The population that included the north side of the Bow River and the south side of the Bow River. At least I think it was over 800, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: And did all of those people lose their homes completely?
[00:07:20] Speaker C: Yeah, not like the main ones that got hit from the bottom got lost theirs, and then there was some that got evacuated just because they ran out of power, too. So their homes got affected, but they were on the heel. There was no water damage, but some of the water actually did sewer damage, so sewer backup with the units that were on the heels. So there was a lot of them that lost their homes. And then, of course, the assessment came after, when they were able to determine which houses were damaged, which were condemned and all that kind of stuff, who could go back home, and just a whole bunch of stuff that was just crazy at the time, I bet, like.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: So many different processes to go through. And so when did you find out about your home that it was a loss?
[00:08:05] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I happened to have, I'd say from ground level to that hill. It's like the first flat in the area where we camped, and I'd say it's about 30ft high from ground level. And we still had about 5ft to spare when the water went by. So it was really close. But we managed to jump up there, stay on the hill. We got our tents. We had a trailer, we have an RV trailer. We managed to pull up there. We have one truck. And then all the donations came in for tents. So we were able to watch that flood all evening and just watch our house get damaged. And we were able to watch it all night. Nobody slept. And then we're able to see all the animals, the moose running through the floods, drowning. Some of them made it, some of them didn't. So it was quite the sight. So we're able to see that right from the start. Right to the finish, yeah. The next day we had these great big white swans that were know in a place they've never been. Right. That was kind of comical. That next morning. Wow. So I told Holly, take a look at the know, just outside her backyard along the hill. That was weird. But they enjoyed the water, I guess.
Yeah. So we seen everything. So it just took a day, and that's was we lost everything. Yeah.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: How did that make you feel?
[00:09:20] Speaker C: Well, for me, I'm kind of the leader of the family, so I always showed, I guess, my tough side. I showed my strength, that I'm there for my wife and my kids, but it was hard for them because they lost everything. And I lost everything. But I was there more, mainly for my wife and my kids. And then as the next few days, the water slowly receded. Within those seven days, that's when it was even a lot harder, because you were able to step into your home and there was no security around and take a peek and how much damage it took, the mud and the filth. And that really hurt a lot, though. It was traumatizing, for sure. It's a bad memory because I think mostly everyone has really had a lot of keepsakes, a lot of hair, looms that we really took care of all these years just for it to get washed away in one day. There was a lot of my late wife had her grandpa's stuff from the war that was paper that didn't make it, certificates, some old pictures, stuff like that. I had traditional stuff that I lost, like feathers and medicines, a whole other stuff that belonged to our tradition that I lost. It's going to come back eventually, but that stuff I had for years and probably came from my grandmother grandfather that was passed down. So that was traumatizing. It was tough, for sure, but it was just as tough to see my late wife cry and cry and cry. That was sad. And she wasn't the only one crying. It was the kids. And you look over, the neighbors were crying, everybody was crying. So there was really a sad moment when we all got evacuated to the one area, the sportsplex. I walked in and I had an out of body experience because everybody felt the same thing at that very moment. They were lost, they were hungry, they were sad, they were angry. So having all those feelings at the same time, it seemed like everyone froze when I was looking at everybody for maybe a couple of minutes, and everybody froze in there, whatever they were doing, and I was looking around. That was really weird. But I've never seen that much connection before with a whole bunch of people, and we all had that same feeling. And I think that's what it was, was to recognize it. Everybody felt the same way. Sad, happy, hungry, mad. Definitely to see everybody cry, though, that was really hard, for sure.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Like, just so much intense emotion from everyone that, you know, all at once. Can you describe the effect that the flood had on other people?
[00:11:55] Speaker C: You yeah, like we had a community of we had the Hidden Valley Resort, from what I understand. We leased the land and the ones had their cabins. That was their second homes. But to see they got the worst, they got their whole community just washed right out, devastating. Their houses were floating down the river, literally getting smashed underneath the bridge. And I think that affected them for sure. That was crazy how to see them go through that.
And then from what I hear, the government didn't recognize that as insurance or they couldn't get any funding back because there were second homes, wasn't their main home. So some of them lost out. But I'm pretty sure they got covered, though, by their insurance. So in other areas, like for instance, we camped for three months on the hill, camping. It was just like if you have a barbecue, people would bring a few drinks, but it was like a barbecue every night.
It was in an open summer, we had open skies, we had people donating hot dogs, meat, pastry. And then of course, the ones that were under the influence were able to get themselves alcohol. So a lot of them that were affected that way, a lot of them want to give up too, though. So a lot of them, I think, pretty well want to give up on their lives because they lost everything. So there was numerous attempts of, I would say suicide. Other ways that they were affected was some families couldn't live with each other for the first time, so a lot of them would fight each other, but they have nowhere to go. They'd have to stay there because there was nowhere to go. And that's how they're affected. And then the flip side for me, I was really happy enjoying myself. That was crazy because I was able to see my brother every day. We're so busy working. I'd never seen him. And to see my family together every single day, I enjoyed it. Wake up, have a coffee, chop some wood, get ready for the night, and then just make sure we have the right enough food for that day.
That was the happy moments. That when we were all together, despite immense loss that we took, others that were affected too, were I think it was a loss of pride. Of course, people couldn't face anyone because people took care of their homes, fences, beautiful fences, hard earned money into their houses and just lost everything. So you see people walking around. The best way to describe that event for me was walking in the molgasins of our ancestors because we were all suffering. We were all sad, hungry, lost, and that's how we all felt. That just probably about the time when we lost our buffalo. That's how we felt then. We had nothing to grab onto at the moment. So that's how everybody was affected pretty well. So some survived and some were able to help others. And then, I guess, the ones that had interest, like, to assist the people, they rose under pressure and were able to come to the top, and then they were able to begin the advocacy for the people, for the nation, and speak on their behalf. The ones that just really can't speak for themselves, so these ones rose. There was a lot of leaders that came up out of it, and that's what that flood bring out, too, was true leadership through the nation. So that's how some of them were affected. Some people used it as a stepping stone to assist the people, which was good in that sense.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: Right. So through the disaster, strength could be found. Yeah. And you managed to find moments of joy within it as well. And so how did the flood make you feel about climate change?
[00:15:24] Speaker C: Wow, climate change. I guess I was very fortunate to be with housing because we were able to go into in depth sessions on water, how to measure water, the environmentalists stepping in. So we had different areas that worked for the government, were able to teach us how climate change has affected us. And a lot of them had to do with water. And then there's so many dams that we probably could have saved that area. We're not ready for any disasters. Our peace plans, if there was any, just completely failed. So they wanted to, like climate change itself, to see things dewindle. Like right now there's more homes than land, so we're losing our animals for one thing. So in that sense, too, that was part of the climate change. We had hotter days than rainy days, drier seasons. This past year, we had a whole bunch of flies. Flies were really big. And then the one year, we had millions of macpies that were dead on the road. That was all due to climate change, too. They couldn't handle the heat, or they got some sort of virus that happened to them. Climate change. During the flood, I think we understood how the rain got caught up in the mountains. They had heavy snow up there for it to begin flooding. That was a fact. Like I said, it's never flooded in my area and where the house is, and I lost it. So definitely something going on.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: So it just kind of made it more real, I guess.
[00:16:48] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: So can you describe help you received during the flood?
[00:16:54] Speaker C: Yeah, the assistance. Well, first it just started personal. Right. Your friends chipped in. The ones that didn't get affected, they come by, bring a box of food, whether it was bread, those were like happy days. Open the spread. I don't know what we getting today. Right. Hot dogs, steak, macaroni, then goodies for the kids. And then from there, that's when the leadership rose from the community. They started calling out for community advocacy, meaning people to represent need two people from each community to come together and start planning what has to happen. It was a voting system, so they put names down and I got voted. I was one of them that got voted for Little Washington. So we were able to sit in those meetings with chief and counsel, which is the highest political level on the nation. So we were able to have these flood meetings. Anything with the flood, they were part of it. This way they can write. If they had to write BCRs or motions, we would write them. We'd send it to them, they would get it all written out properly and then they would pass these motions. They would say, we're going to take a million kids trust fund so we could utilize it for tents or generators, stuff like that. That's where the help started there. And then the negotiating started with the leadership and they signed an MoU with Alberta. Alberta was going to shut the door, but I'm pretty sure the Feds told Alberta, we're going to give this to you, so take care of Sixiga and any other band because they're federal jurisdiction and Alberta is provincial, obviously, so there's no funding from Alberta for us. Mr. Campbell came in. Robin Campbell? He was the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. He came down to Blackford Cross and he spoke and he said, every sixiga nation member that lost their home will receive $350,000 in return to build our new house. That was the province. And then he said, that time it was Premier Gridford, I believe. And then she said, you're all Albertans, regardless of these boundaries, the Feds and all that, you're Albertans, just like the rest of us. And then Jim Prentice, I think, was part of it. Too late, Jim Prentice. That's when the ball started rolling. And then they said, well, let's get an MoU as a guideline so they could work together. A Memorandum of Agreement of Understanding with Six Car Nation, and we got to be the author of it. We got to write in what we needed what comes from here. We control the rights for know who comes in the reserve, who know who's fixing this, who's fixing that. And then we opened the doors to Red Cross. Red Cross came in Good Samaritans purse. They were like a Christian group, I believe. There was other some churches that came in and that helped the physical help came in. We had one group doing houses and that starting to clean up. Then we had the other one still negotiating, how are we going to help the people? Nobody's working. They lost their vehicles, lost their clothes, lost everything. So what are we going to do? And then the help began negotiating. Well, let's get these Atko trailers in. We get them a place to stay. But before that they bring everybody into the hotels. Some were in Bazano, some were in Calgary, and then they slowly started going to Strathmore. Everybody went to right around Marble area in Calgary. There was that we call them the Twin Towers. I forgot what they're called. But they're a premier hotel now. And they got a total a bunch of upgrades too. In their hotel, all the room were booked for all our people that lost their homes. Get up, go have a buffet. Free lunch. Free supper. That's when all the help started. And for some reason, our family never got a hotel. That was crazy. We never got a hotel from anywhere. And everybody said, yeah, we got a hotel. What? How'd you get a hotel? So there was quite a few of us that got left out, so I thought, it's okay. We're good out here anyway. We'll stay out here. They had centers for showering. And over here, they had a whole bunch of showers. There Anatco trailer just full of showers and you lined up. Got your ticket, got to take a shower, stuff like that. They give you a bag of cleaning supplies and then donations were just crazy. Donation center here. Then we got to go through there for clothes. New clothes. We couldn't really take nothing because we had nowhere to store it. But then that help included food, clothing, and a lot of organizations got together, and then they started going around. Who needs tents? Tarps road gas propane. And they did all that? They were actually driving around giving us gas every two days and propane every three days. They made sure we were good in the camping ground. So that was part of the help that was beginning at that time.
[00:21:24] Speaker D: Warren camps with his family on the hill for months. ATCO trailers were brought in for temporary housing. And Warren finally gets his family placed in one. It's a shared accommodation, though, and their roommates do not appreciate the sound of Warren's young boy's feet pattering down the hall.
[00:21:40] Speaker C: When we got that trailer, the kids were so excited. They started going back to school, and they got excited. They run down the hallway mom, dad, look. I drew this today for you. Mom, dad, look at this picture. They would do that every day. Oh, gee. I'm so proud of you. Just like a parent to a child. Finally, they made a complaint and the third time my son ran down and 11:00 at night -17 RCMP came by they kicked us out of ATCO trailers. Me, my wife and my boys we all got kicked out -17 our house we lost our house in a flood. I told them all this is their property. No one understood how happy that boy was running every day to come and say hi. And that was before I got into leadership. My wife asked me, what are we going to do? I said, well, best thing to do is leave now because they got the RCMP. I don't think any of us want to get charged for yelling or whatever. So we have to leave. That's what they said. Because we're just home. We're home growing. We like our home. We don't bother nobody.
[00:22:39] Speaker D: A crisis worker found Warren and his family a hotel room in Strathmore. But again, they run into complications.
[00:22:46] Speaker C: That very moment our kids were going to school, they gave us a nice family suite. And then next thing you know, as I heard a whole about two hockey teams came to stay there. And right across our rooms there was two doors open and they were just partying and drinking in there. The parents, while the kids were running around and our kids were in there sleeping, waiting to go to school the next day. The next morning, the manager called me down and said your kids were running around all night, so we have to let you guys go. Excuse me? They were in my room all night. What are you talking about? And these kids were from those non native parents were running around all night and they kicked us out. That manager, I told them, Well, I can do a lot to you. I said, but that's not the way we are. This is your hotel. You're managing this big, beautiful place. You want us out of here, I'm gone. I teach that to my kids. The minute you step out, your door is not your property no more. If you're going to get in trouble out there, it's because it's their property. However, there is some rules that they should know too. We have human rights whose land you're walking on too. Other people have been going through that on the west Side, getting evicted. So I kept sharing this to everybody and then everybody said, well, you know, you should make a change for the know, get these policies in place so no one will go through that again. Sure enough, everybody voted me. And first thing I did, I went to see housing and I said, I want to get a motion made up during the flood season. No one will be evicted, no matter the situation. However, families must take care of themselves. Whoever's trying to kick them out, just to back off and let them run their own affairs. But no one is going to be evicted. And that was my first motion as a leader.
[00:24:21] Speaker D: As the rebuilding process proved to be slow, siksika found another source of temporary housing.
[00:24:27] Speaker C: So we went straight away to Slave Lake. There that whole area burnt and they had all those trailers there, brand new trailers that were used for the people. They're a disaster. But now they're just sitting there with nobody living in them. Everybody went back home or whatever and we went up there to investigate. We had our inspectors look over them. These trailers were beautiful. And Slave Lake said you could take all 144 trailers for $2 million. That was a steal and a half. So we got everything on paper, went to Ottawa. Ottawa's fiscal year is in November. So it was right after November. And they came back and they said, we have a surplus in funding. That surplus and funding is dedicated to six Gar nations. That money went right over to Slave Lake to buy all those trailers and paid all the guys to haul them all down, pay for the power, the gas, everything. And then now we have an extra 144 trailers on top of the 144 homes with our population. We kind of was a gift in disguise from the flood, right? Because we ended up with 144 homes on top.
[00:25:29] Speaker A: Warren explains how his brief role as.
[00:25:32] Speaker D: A housing coordinator became much more than housing.
[00:25:35] Speaker C: I was housing coordinator during the floodish. That was before I got into leadership. So just that very little bit, that was the housing coordinator. And these homeowners came in and wanted question. So it was a lineup all the way to come in and see me. But all they did was came in, sat down, and they cried their eyes out. They bawled, I cried, we cried together. Not much was said about their home. Thank you. They left. Next one still getting ready to talk, break down, cry again. It was literally for two weeks straight. People coming in crying. And people started hearing, hey, you should go see Warren. I heard he's a real nice guy to go talk to him. He might help you. Maybe spiritually, he can assist you in that area. I felt I was the same boat. They were on that side. I was here, I was working, but I was affected too, just like them. So I was able to understand their wants, their needs, what they were yearning for. I was able to connect with my people.
[00:26:33] Speaker D: Warren, when did you move back into your house?
[00:26:36] Speaker C: I got my house and the flood was in 2013. I moved in my house three years now, so that would be 2019. So I was now without a house for six years. That's where I ended up. We all ended up with a home eventually. So 2018, 19 people started moving it back into their homes. So that was a long five, six years.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: So is everyone back in a permanent.
[00:26:59] Speaker C: Home now as we speak? Everyone's back in their homes. Everyone has been situated in their areas. Some have requested certain areas, got approved. Then a lot went back to the communities that were newly developed. So like the area I was in, they went up the hill. Now. South camp went up the hill. A lot went to Clooney and then this side. Everybody got to pick their sites, was able to get their own homes. Then the trailers. Some of the kids that were over 18 were able to get into those trailers and get to use them if they took care of the home. So that's how that worked. I think everyone's situated. But now I would call this little talk that we have, it's a good little session for. Me because it's a release. It's a release of stuff that I've been carrying for a while.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: So what brings you hope for the future?
[00:27:48] Speaker C: 60 guys are thriving. It's fast. We have some young people coming out of school. They got these ideas. I think if they're steered in the right direction by a person with my compassion, love for the people, I think I could give it to them to hopefully they'll do the same in their future. So what do I see? Future first exaggeration is we were bonded. I think if everybody really understands that what we've been through together is that solidified our love for one another, our compassion, our need for one another, and accept all the gifts and cherish them. And one day, if you ever have a chance to assist, do the same. How can we save our people? That's what it's all about, saving one another. And that's what the human race is, climate change, saving one another.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: That's right. Absolutely. And finding those blessings along the way.
[00:28:39] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: Warren's experience with the flood was both unique and yet also a combined reality of the Sikhsika community. While it was disastrous, they found strength together to rebuild. I still can't believe how long it took for everyone to get back into permanent homes.
[00:29:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's crazy how long it took and how none of this was really covered by the media, but it shows how strong the community is.
Next is a discussion with registered nurse and sixkA community member Giselle Smith. Giselle Smith is the former team leader for sixkA Health who in 2013 shared the responsibility of handling the flood. Giselle talks about resiliency and how the community dealt with the challenges presented by the flood.
So, Giselle, let's start off by you introducing yourself. Tell me who you are, where you're from, what you do for work.
[00:29:48] Speaker E: My name is Giselle and I'm a registered nurse. I was raised by my grandparents from sixkA, went to school on reserve, and then my grandparents sent me to school off reserve, and that's when I chose to become a nurse to help my community.
[00:30:06] Speaker B: So what were you doing for work before the flood and during the flood? Like you said, you were working at Six Gut Health when the flood happened?
[00:30:14] Speaker E: So I was the team leader for community Health. That was pretty much I've always taken care of the community, and the flood just helped me take care of the community more with support from other departments.
[00:30:27] Speaker B: So what was your life, your home life like when the flood happened?
[00:30:33] Speaker E: I had three girls at home and my husband work consumed most of my life during the flood.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: Okay, so where were you when the flood happened, when you first heard about the flood?
[00:30:48] Speaker E: Actually, when the flood happened, I was at work with another coworker. We were staying late and we weren't aware of what was actually happening outside until we started getting well. I started receiving emails from different departments, from the emergency department, Tom Little Child, and then as well from Health Canada that the flood was actually happening.
[00:31:18] Speaker B: Okay, and so what happened? What did you see?
[00:31:23] Speaker E: I remember actually taking that time with a coworker to Chicago to see the site, to actually see what happened, and it was really there were no words, sorry.
[00:31:39] Speaker B: Chicago.
[00:31:40] Speaker E: Chicago in sixkA, that's where part of the flood hit, which was nearest to the health center.
It was sad. It was really sad to see our communities displaced, to have nothing, to have lost their homes, to have lost all their belongings, their memories with pictures, everything. It was sad. It was a disruption.
There was a lot of sorrow and sadness, definitely.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: So what happened when the flood hit with Six Aga?
[00:32:21] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:32:22] Speaker B: Did you receive help? How was the community, how did you.
[00:32:25] Speaker E: Guys respond when the flood hit? Sikska was on its own.
We heard about the flood in High River, we heard about the flood in Calgary, and we heard about the response. Sixiga was on its own, thankfully, I was at work, so I was able to help it to respond. But it was the emergency department that responded to the flood victims and helping them help rescue them, because although the communication went out to evacuate, a lot of people didn't evacuate when they should have, and that put the emergency department crew at risk as well, because then they were out trying to rescue everybody.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Yeah, so I remember the flood, and till this day, we still take time to remember the damage that it caused, because it did cause a lot of damage for houses in Calgary and surrounding we. The response, though, was so like, everyone helped each other within know, it was on the news, it was in your face, like everyone knew what was going on, but I don't really remember hearing about Sixaga. What was the emergency response for your.
[00:33:45] Speaker E: Very, very I think we responded to the flood really well, and again, that's because of the emergency department and the crisis response. So there was no outside help other than Health Canada, environmental health. I remember the environmental health officers coming at like 330 in the morning to help us respond because the flood took out our water treatment center, water treatment plants, and so, of course, Six had no water, which is important. So they responded very quickly. They were there, they're right by our side.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: Okay. And as far as the.
[00:34:25] Speaker E: Don't, I can honestly say I don't really remember anybody else other than sixkA departments. I remember the meeting, I remember going into the meeting with all the team leaders. So for me, well, senior managers, and so for me, for sixkA House, it was Tom Little Child was responding to the emergency, and then Tyler, and then each department's senior manager. I remember the chief at the time that was there, and I'll never forget his words because he said when we were going doing a roundtable of what needed to happen and everything, and we looked to the chief and he said, you guys are the experts and nobody is to get in the way. And I think that's why we responded so well is because the chief did not allow anybody to get into the way of us responding or getting in those middle management, micromanaging, all of that stuff. Nothing was interfering with how we needed to respond.
[00:35:30] Speaker B: So who helped, who helped you guys clean up? Who helped the emergency keep everyone safe? Who was all involved?
[00:35:41] Speaker E: All the departments, so Housing, Public Works Six, Ga House.
It was everybody was involved. So every department and every senior manager and their teams were all involved.
The chief allowed us to do our work and did not interfere and did not allow any outside interference from us doing our job.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: So as the team leader, how did you guys manage to work with the, the families that were affected?
[00:36:17] Speaker E: Our response was definitely for safety. So that's why they had their emergency crew out rescuing families. We set up the sportsplex. Sportsplex was our emergency relief site, so everybody was brought there, we had COTS set up, we had nurses, we had ambulance, we had everybody set up there and that was our command center as well. So everybody that was displaced was brought there. Some went to family, to other homes, and some went different places, some camped out in different areas because we were just responding as quickly as we could. It came to the point where everybody's displaced, so what do we do? And some were camped out and then there was more storms coming and it became a safety. So we needed to find out where everybody was so we can track what was happening in the community.
And eventually that's when the government of Alberta came in and also helped.
[00:37:31] Speaker B: Oh wow, okay, that's a lot of work, but you guys really came together and figured it out.
[00:37:43] Speaker E: Everything else was going happening around us. And I think sixkA was responding really well as far as the emergency crisis part of it, as soon as that was lifted, that's when the emergency response team was pretty much no longer in control. It was more under the government of Alberta and INACC, which is Indian Affairs. They came into play right, because for the displaced families and funding and all of that stuff, we weren't getting that media attention like in High River in Calgary. I mean, they had the military, they had everybody responding in those areas. And so we were kind of off to the side, forgotten, like when it finally let down. They of course assessed everywhere, right?
And they realized that sixkA was also in crisis, but we managed it on our own.
[00:38:42] Speaker B: How many families or homes were hit?
[00:38:45] Speaker A: Do you know?
[00:38:45] Speaker B: Like an.
[00:38:49] Speaker E: Sikska. Health took the lead in that. In the beginning. So what we did is because we worked with the environmental health officers who went into the homes and actually said whether they coated them, whether they were black, red, yellow or green. Green meaning is the best, like that they were still repairable, and black meaning they were no good, the homes were not repairable. So there was approximately between 253 hundred homes that were affected. Some homes had ten people in the home, some had two.
Once we were able to assess the damage in all the homes that were damaged, we actually put together data that was a lot of work and seeing whether their level, whether they were elders, whether they had health issues, whether they had children. And then we started prioritizing them and then they had to get into hotels. So some of them that were living that would go and stay with family. So if you have a family of ten that go and stay with another house, like a family member, and there's five, then you have 15 people in the home. So that was also a risk. We had to consider all of those things. So just assessing everything, it took a while, it took a couple of weeks before we kind of figured out what was happening with the homes and where everybody was and how many people were actually affected and then meeting their health needs. Some lost their dentures, their glasses, their medications.
So those are our immediate concerns. And then they were at the sportsplex, the command center, and then they were put into hotels in Strathmore. And eventually it took a while, like a long time before we got the ADCO trailers where family were just put into one room.
They were very isolated, very small living quarters. As far as leadership, we all met on a weekly basis or more with the government as well, to go over the needs of the community. Then we'd work together to strategize to meet the needs of the community. There was definitely a lot of things to deal with. A lot of things.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: So almost ten years later, those homes were destroyed, right? And people were displaced, new homes were built. What are the effects that still linger today in Sigsiga? What are the effects that you guys still feel from the flood?
[00:41:46] Speaker E: People lost everything. Like everything, even health wise, that stress. People lost family members during that time when they were displaced. The stress on people and sickness and illness.
We also had, like, if you're living in small quarters, of course communicable disease is higher, like flu, things like that.
[00:42:12] Speaker B: Six guy responded so well. You guys really took care of each other during that time. Is there anything you would have changed?
[00:42:20] Speaker E: I think Sixka's gained from it. Regardless of losing everything that they and all that they have gone through and all the hardships, we have gained so much wisdom and knowledge of how to respond. And so any future emergencies in response. We're going to get better.
[00:42:39] Speaker B: Yes. I definitely think that the flood showed the community what sixica is capable of, right?
Yes. It was a devastating event that happened, but you guys were able to walk away from that crisis and walk away stronger and more knowledgeable.
So what are your hopes for the future?
[00:43:05] Speaker E: I guess it's just being prepared. I think our next generation resiliency.
They've been through a lot.
They've overcome it. We've all overcome it together. So I guess that resiliency.
[00:43:29] Speaker B: During her position, Giselle's responsibility was caring for those affected by the flood. With limited government interference, sixiga nation flood victims pulled together through the help of the community. Thanks for listening to Weathering the Storm stories of climate crisis from Alberta and around the world. I'm shawana bakvat.
[00:43:46] Speaker A: And I'm Amy Osnis. This series is powered by Shaw and a part of the Community Podcast Initiative. Based out of Mount Royal University. It was produced on the lands that are home to the Nitsitapi iyahe Nakota Sutina and METI People. We recognize the stewards of these lands and we hope to contribute to a better understanding of our environment by sharing the stories of those affected by climate change.
Special thanks to our partner, the Climate Disaster Project, and to Warren Drunkenchief and Giselle Smith for joining us. You can learn more about the climate disaster
[email protected]. Be sure to subscribe to the show to hear the latest episodes and discover new podcasts from the Community Podcast Initiative at thepodcaststudio CA Day.
