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A small, mostly francophone community near Winnipeg has been dubbed the 'Ste. Anne First Nation' after 400 refugees from the Roseau River reserve, fleeing the swollen Red River, were forced to take refuge in the town's curling rink.
The Aboriginal visitors and their non-Aboriginal hosts have been getting along famously, officials from both sides report.
About an hour's drive from the Roseau River reserve, Ste Anne is a Winnipeg bedroom community with a population of just over 1,500. Since late April, the local curling rink has been home away from home for the First Nation flood victims.
It's difficult to remember that the two communities are enduring one of the worst natural catastrophes ever to hit the province of Manitoba when you talk to Ste. Anne councilor Guy Deschambault.
"This is a total success story," the first-term councilor says. "I'm really amazed by how the two communities have come together. This is the beginning of a big thing, I believe. If you measure a successful relationship at fifty-fifty, I'd say we're more like ninety-ten. It's been an extremely positive experience for Ste Anne."
Roseau River band councilor Martha Larocque agrees.
"It's been a good experience," she said. "I'll have a lot of memories. The women of Ste Anne. wanted to learn beadwork so we've been teaching them and exchanging ideas. It's been good. And many of the people here had never seen a powwow. We've had two powwows so far."
On May 18 the Roseau River people held an appreciation powwow for their hosts in the local legion hall. "We were going to hold it outside, but it was too cold," Larocque said.
Deschambault said everyone involved tries to make things as cosy as possible in the curling rink.
"At first, we had these inflatable mattresses and that first night we all had to blow up about 260 of them," he said, laughing. "Then the army brought in these cots and, well, you know how those army cots are - we had to put them together. After that, we brought in dividers and put them out onto the curling rink so everybody could have their own little place, he said. "And upstairs in the part of the club that was the lounge, well, the bar is now the nursing area and doctors office."
Area businesses have donated storage space for the many loads of donated food that have flooded into Ste. Anne from First Nations in other parts of Manitoba and from Alberta and Ontario. Meal preparation can be get a little hectic, but the people are making the best of it.
"We had a fish fry for about 350 people and we did it with four frying pans," Deschambault said. "You can imagine how busy we were, but we had a very good time."
The town councilor is excited by the lessons he and his constituents have learned and by the friendships they've made.
"It looks like they'll be able to go home soon and, you know, it's almost sad to see everybody go. It's going to leave a big hole in our lives. You almost want to look for another disaster to bring people together again," he said. "A local paper here had a story and the headline said 'Disaster or triumph?' and that pretty well covers it, I think."
"We've learned so much about Native people. It's not gospel and I can't prove it ,but I heard that they were refused in a couple of other places. With us, there was no second thought: people were in trouble and we said 'Of course, we'll help' and it's been a wonderful experience."
"Ignorance is always based on fear of the unknown and now we know these people and we know we can work together and understand each other," he added.
Band councilor Larocque said the annual June powwow in Roseau River will be a reunion of sorts as it will become one more appreciation powwow.
"That's if the grounds aren't still under water," she jokes.
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