First Nation flood evacuees feel unwelcome at hotel

Some elders from a Manitoba First Nation that was flooded this spring have checked out of a Winnipeg hotel this week, saying they did not feel welcome there.

Elders from the Lake St. Martin First Nation have been staying temporarily in Winnipeg hotels since flooding severely damaged their home community in May.

But elders like Violet Ross, 74, said staff at the Place Louis Riel Hotel in downtown Winnipeg did not want them to gather in the hotel lobby.

Ross recalled one occasion when a hotel security guard gave her a hard time as she sat in the lobby.

"'Why don't you stay in your room?' he said to me.… I said to him, 'I'm waiting for my ride. That's why I'm sitting here,'" Ross said.

Ross and several other elders who were staying at the Place Louis Riel Hotel moved to another hotel over the weekend.

"There's no reason for our people to be kicked around all over the place," said Alex Ryle, an elder advocate.

"I thought Canada was a place where people cared. I haven't seen that yet."

Staff at the Place Louis Riel Hotel said they are working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to clear up any misunderstandings.

The Lake St. Martin elders have been moved to five different hotels since their community was evacuated.

Officials with the First Nation, located about 280 kilometres north of Winnipeg, are in talks with government officials about relocating the entire community to higher ground.

A total of more than 2,000 people from eight Manitoba First Nations are temporarily living in hotels and apartment units because of flooding in their home communities.