Tent city dismantled, only to rise again

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2020 (1558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last week, “tent city” was dismantled — forced by a city-issued order to vacate from the public spaces Winnipeg citizens inhabited just off Austin Street and Henry Avenue.

Visible to commuters on Disraeli Freeway, the urban sprawl featured dozens of tents, two warming huts, and three tipis over the past few winters and summers. All had sprung up, only to have the City of Winnipeg issue eviction notices and order police and fire officials to remove the homes.

But tent city always comes back.

The most recent incarnation of the community has been growing exponentially over the past three months. It’s now arguably the largest it’s ever been — housing around 50 residents permanently, and another 100 or so temporarily.

Most members of tent city (I’d estimate 90 per cent) are Indigenous. Many carry trauma from past and present violence in their lives, self-medicating themselves and the pain from those experiences with intoxicants — mostly drugs these days, since stringent rules have been instilled at Manitoba Liquor Marts.

Drugs offer an escape from whatever needs escaping from. It’s that simple.

There seems to be more and more needing escape at tent city.

Main Street Project executive director Rick Lees told me a few weeks ago needle use is up 12 per cent this year at the city shelter group’s nearby safe injection program. As a member of a community patrol to the site, I can tell you first-hand, I picked up more than 50 used syringes over 30 minutes recently.

While there, I’ve visited with our relatives and heard their stories. Male relations speak of being abused, beaten, and marginalized — sometimes by family members, sometimes by police. Female relations speak of being assaulted, oppressed, and having their children taken away. Two-spirit relatives speak of all of this and more.

All speak with a desire to be seen, safe, and hope for better days ahead.

To a person, they clearly tell anyone who will listen tent city is their home.

There are rules; it’s a systematic, self-governing community.

The most important principle is your stuff is your stuff. Permission is to be requested before entry into anyone’s space, and residents watch out for each other.

Breaking this rule results in no one trusting you, yelling, or a punch to the face. (Frankly, I’d like anyone go in their neighbour’s house and try taking stuff and see what happens.)

Trust is the currency of tent city; if people don’t trust you, you are ostracized.

Another rule is to consistently and continually show respect to everyone around you. There is a level of community in tent city I frankly don’t see in my own neighbourhood.

Strangers — particularly drug pushers — are unwelcome and, frankly, stick out. Respect also carries to others, including a duck nest with eggs in the middle of the community.

Kindness carries much of the day. Members greet one another and tend to help each other out. There is an ethic of sharing of clothes, medical supplies, and blankets. Members regularly “check in” on another, especially if someone is sick or injured. Many tents feature couples.

Two months ago, I witnessed a written census being kept of who was where in the community.

There are also community-owned materials, such as tools, radios, and generators.

There is unquestionably conflict and violence, but it’s not rampant, and there is an agreed-upon method to deal with such issues should they arise. There are also women and men who act as peacekeepers — with leadership evident within the site.

Tent city is, obviously, not ideal but it is a home for our relatives. Period.

Now, a fence surrounds the Henry Avenue site, with a sign reading, “closed due to COVID-19.” (Note to whomever put that there: Manitoba has been “opening up” for weeks. No one believes you.)

City officials argued tent city had become a fire hazard. Arguably, this is true, with several fires due to residents trying to keep warm or cook food. However, it’s not as if residents weren’t aware and took precautions. For example: when offered new fire-retardant tents by Main Street Project, many took them.

So, instead of providing warmth and warm food, city officials decided to just remove tent city, yet again.

What a waste of taxpayer dollars. All the city did last week was force residents to move to three new sites nearby.

Granted, these sites are not in view of commuters on Disraeli Freeway.

So, as tent city continues — and grows — due to provincial cuts to emergency rooms, mental health services, and reduced Manitoba Housing units, city officials did nothing last week except force an Indigenous community to move off their homelands.

Sound familiar?

Meanwhile, the same forces that are hurting our relatives remain unchanged, unaltered, unaddressed.

Nothing has changed, except now the city can pretend tent city is gone. It’s not.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca