‘I’m trying to be strong’

Eva Muswagon’s eyes fill with tears when she talks about the emotional strain and uncertainty her family has endured in the 11 days since Pimicikamak Cree Nation suffered a power outage.

The relief she felt when her electricity was restored Jan. 1 turned to horror and despair three days later, when raw sewage backed up and filled her bathtub.

“I just wanted to scream,” Muswagon said from Pimicikamak Wednesday, while federal and provincial officials and Indigenous leaders toured the northern community, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

“We were told everything inside the home is already condemned.”

The tub was slowly draining, but it still contained sewage more than 72 hours after the backup occurred.

Muswagon, her husband and three of their children have moved in with her parents for the time being. They don’t know when they will be able to return to their home of 13 years.

It’s unclear when the necessary repairs and cleanup will take place.

Muswagon, the community’s technology administrator, became emotional when she considered the long road ahead of them.

“I’m trying to be strong,” she said.

Muswagon shed tears when the delegation of officials, including federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand (the local MP for Churchill — Keewatinook Aski), Premier Wab Kinew and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who is from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba, toured her home.

Muswagon welcomed the visit, which she hopes will expedite building inspections and repairs, and the community’s recovery.

“They told us they’re going to take care of us, they’re going to try to help us as soon as they can,” she said. “I feel a lift off my shoulders. I’m hoping something will be done regarding my place. We really need help in our community.”

“We were told everything inside the home is already condemned.”

Some of the officials wore face masks during the tour of Muswagon’s home, which has a horrible stench.

“It’s awful. You can smell it when you’re standing outside the house,” she said.

Muswagon said staff from Indigenous Services Canada also promised help when they inspected homes with Monias on Tuesday.

Pimicikamak’s 1,300-plus homes are being inspected for water, sewer and other damage after the power outage that lasted from Dec. 28 to Jan. 2.

Manitoba Hydro said a transmission line snapped just north of the First Nation and the neighbouring community of Cross Lake.

Pipes, tanks and pumps froze and burst while the temperature dropped below -30 C. Water filled some basements and crawl spaces after electricity was restored and ice began to melt.

Sewage backed up into several homes in Pimicikamak. Chief David Monias has described the First Nation’s water and sewage systems as “barely functioning.”

Muswagon said water leaked inside her daughter’s home, which also sustained a cracked floor.

About 4,000 people left Pimicikamak during and after the outage. Some of those who are unable to return to damaged homes are staying in hotels in Thompson and Winnipeg.

Muswagon said 11 family members, including grandchildren as young as two, stayed in her house during the outage. They gathered in the living room, which was warmed by a fire in a wood stove. It wasn’t enough to prevent pipes from freezing, however.

The Muswagon family lost potable water and made three-hour round trips to Norway House Cree Nation to stock up on food, bottled water and other necessities. Muswagon cooked meals, including spaghetti, on the wood stove.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

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Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.