So, while we were under evacuation, Jean and I were asked to provide support for members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) staying at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton. So, we said, “Well, yaaaaa.”
YKDFN had placed many Elders and other members at the casino and another group of members at the Wyndham Hotel. I’m a member of the YKDFN, and I thought “Okay, I understand the Wyndham, but a casino probably is a bad place to house our people.”
Guess what? After we were there for a while, I changed my mind. Say what? Yup — I gradually realized that, aside from the obvious issue of being in a casino, River Cree was actually a good place to have our members.
Let’s look at the situation: first of all, the place is owned by a First Nation. And where most hotels might only have one or two Native staff, many of the casino/hotel staff were Native. Very cool.
Maybe that’s partially why the staff seemed to be more accommodating than at a regular hotel.
It also has a huge lobby where the Elders could sit around and visit with each other. One lady said, “I like this because I can visit with a lot of our people every day. If we were at home, I’d just be alone in my apartment, except for when I go to A&W.”
There are several elevators so our Elders did not have to walk up and down any stairs. And some had walkers and one was even in a wheelchair. It also has six places to eat and a Starbucks. So, we could eat Western, Italian, Chinese or fast-foods without having to go anywhere. Right on.
Did I mention that there was a 12-foot hallway/walkway right around the casino area where we could go for a walk about? Several people could be seen going for a walk every day and they didn’t even have to go outside. This was very convenient for people with walkers.
People arranged Indigenous and Northern entertainment there and the casino donated the space. The casino also donated space for an Elders’ room, although there were days when space was not available. YKDFN arranged to have transportation to go on outings to various places around town.
Medical appointments arranged
Alberta Health Services had an Aboriginal guy on site on week days who was phenomenal. He made medical appointments for people and took them to appointments to ensure they were treated properly.
He even arranged and brought someone to an appointment because their hearing aid wasn’t working. The person came back with a new hearing aid and was absolutely delighted.
And we saw many joyful reunions, as relatives and YKDFN members living in Edmonton or surrounding cities came to visit the evacuees. One person even came from Saskatchewan and her brother came from Vancouver to see family.
The visitors were able to see many people from back home, not just one or two people at a time, which is what happens when someone goes to Edmonton.
Another perk of being at the casino was that lots of Native people came there that we didn’t know. Our First Nation members appreciated seeing so many Indigenous people passing through. Many of them stopped and spoke to our members, offering words of support and encouragement.
Of course, there was some gambling and some drinking, but that would have happened anyways, and this way, people did not have to leave their hotel or have to find their way home.
And the YKDFN members were all together. So, they looked after each other. If someone was missing or had a problem, there was lots of help to solve the problem, including from Jean and I and the Native person from Aboriginal Health Services. Heather from YKDFN was also a huge help. Between all of us, there was a vast network of contacts, phone numbers and knowledge to draw on.
Naturally, YKDFN could have done some things better or quicker, but let’s remember that staff were all evacuees too. They had to look after their families and work long hours, many of them for seven days a week.
A big shout out to the YKDFN staff who worked so hard to make our members’ stay in Edmonton much easier than it could have been. It’s probably why one person said, “This was a good trip.”
And I never thought I would say this, but I think staying at the River Cree also helped to make it a lot easier and safer for most YKDFN evacuees who stayed there.