TORONTO – Half of Canada is gripped by fire and almost all of it by smoke: with 204 active fires, many of them out of control, and air quality alerts that follow one another day after day (here the updates in real time), the situation is a full emergency even though summer has yet to begin. And the most affected populations are the First Nations.

Since yesterday, hundreds of people belonging to the First Nations of Manitoba have been seeking refuge in Niagara Falls, hundreds of kilometres away, while the fires (which have already caused the evacuation of thousands of people, both in Manitoba and Saskatchewan) continue to devastate the Prairies.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati assured – speaking to CTV – that the City is doing its part to ensure “the safety of everyone in Manitoba. We hope the fires don’t last that long, but who knows what Mother Nature has in store for us” Diodati said. “We are happy to do our part, to be united, to unite and to take care of each other…”.

The Province of Ontario is also working for everyone’s safety. “Our government is operating in coordination with the federal government, Indigenous leadership and local partners to ensure the safe evacuation of residents of Northern Ontario and Manitoba” said to CTV the Ontario Emergencies Minister, Jill Dunlop. “More than 800 evacuees from Manitoba have been safely relocated to Niagara and are receiving comprehensive support, including health care, education and other social services, with seven more flights scheduled for today…”.

A spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) also told CTV that 28 First Nations are currently impacted by “wildfire events”: three in Ontario, eight in Alberta and Saskatchewan and nine in Manitoba. Twenty-four of those same First Nations are currently evacuated due to ongoing fires.

And the Indigenous people have been hit by the flames even in their history, in their traditions: in the last few hours, in fact, an Aboriginal historical site went up in flames, the Robertson Trading in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, a grocery store and fur trading center that had officially closed at the end of 2023 but housed a precious collection of indigenous art.

It was the Robertson family themselves who gave the news of the fire, publishing on the Facebook page of the store the video of the fire (here above) and a very emotional post: “The building was just a building, but the loss of the remaining contents—hundreds of pieces of indigenous art and historical artefacts—is catastrophic…” the Robertsons wrote, adding that this art collection “wasn’t just important to our family; it was important to the community who helped build it…”. The post ends with a heartfelt appeal to all Indigenous people: “Please hold your own pieces of indigenous art close to your heart. Protect them. Never forget that these wonderful creations can be gone in an instant—and that what is lost is far more than just leather, bone, and beads…”.