Back in May 2023, my small Métis community of around 300 people, East Prairie Métis Settlement, was devastated by a wildfire.
Located in Treaty 8 territory, our community – also known as Pahkan-Wacis in Cree – is rural and has only one highway in and out. The Grizzly Complex fire was actually three fires that converged on my community. East Prairie burned for weeks, leading to an 80% loss of our forest and 14 families left houseless.
As Indigenous people, our connection to the land is immeasurably vast. The forest is not just the backdrop to our lives, but instead, an extension of our relations, of ourselves, our Wahkohtowin.
To lose 80% of our forest is to devastate generations of my community. We hunt, pick berries, and gather medicines in the forest. Our children and young ones learn how to hunt, trap, snare, and live in relationship with our four-legged relatives in the forest. Many of our stories begin and end with the forest.
