Grant: Project Grant

In May 2011, the Government of Manitoba declared a state of emergency due to unprecedented flooding. The flooding was so severe and rapid that communities downstream of the Fairford Dam were given 24-hours notice to evacuate. The Lake St. Martin First Nation (LSMFN) community, a reserve for 140 years and home to Anishinaabe people for millenia is now uninhabitable. The LSMFN members ki thagi daba wanawug unji uduki wangk or translated to English "were watered out of their land, were forced to evacuate, leaving everything behind". The destruction of their community and homes, forced displacement, colonial government, racism, and repeated moving caused deep-rooted trauma for LSMFN community members. This participatory research will implement a Youth-Elder Mentorship Model Program to promote healing with the LSMFN community members. In consulting with community Youth and Elders, many healing options and priorities were identified at workshops during a one-year funded research program. This research is timely as the provincial government is building another outlet channel through Lake St. Martin to divert more water to further traumatize peoples' well-being and livelihoods, ancestral lands and waters. The post-traumatic distress suffered by LSMFN members requires culturally appropriate research interventions to lessen their grief and heal into a healthy community.