Red Earth evacuees relieved, happy to return home

Hundreds of members of the Red Earth Cree Nation loaded their suitcases and duffel bags onto busses Monday in Saskatoon, as they prepared for the journey home.

"I'm really excited that we're going home," said Michelle Nawakays.

The reserve was evacuated last week after heavy rainfall led the nearby Carrot River to overflow, raising concerns  about access to the community. 

 Nawakays said her four-year-old son likes to run, and it's been a challenge to keep him entertained inside the Henk Ruys Soccer Centre, where they've camped out on army-style cots for the past four nights.

Nawakays said her mother brought along her other children. They stayed with fellow evacuees at Saskatoon's Travelodge.

Altogether, the province said 576 people had to leave their homes at the Red Earth First Nation, 75 kilometres east of Nipawin.

Happy and relieved to be returning home

"The health and safety of our people is first and foremost," said band councillor Fabian Head. He says people today felt happy and relieved to be returning home.

A water main on the reserve is still broken, but no critical infrastructure was damaged by the flooding. The ground remains saturated by runoff.

Last summer, members of the reserve were sent to Regina, after smoke from forest fires made it hard to breathe in the community 

Flooding has led to three previous evacuations of the reserve, over the past ten years.