THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - An elder who lost his home to a fire in May has received a replacement log cabin courtesy of the Fort Smith Metis Council.

Philip McDonald, left, lost his cabin to fire in May. However, Fort Smith Metis Council president Ken Hudson and other board members unanimously approved replacing the destroyed cabin at Salt River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

On Sept. 13, Philip McDonald received the keys to his new cabin, which was relocated the weekend before from another site at Salt River, west of Fort Smith.

The 83-year-old was thankful to get the cabin.

“At least I got a roof over my head,” he said.

For the moment, he is staying at his late brother’s house at Salt River, until his new cabin is ready to move into.

“I’ve got to fix it up a little first,” he said, adding he will probably move in sometime this fall.

A porch needs to be built onto the cabin and some other work needs to be done, he said. “It takes a little time.”

Ken Hudson, the president of the Fort Smith Metis Council, said its board unanimously approved donating a cabin to McDonald.

Hudson explained it was one of three cabins built several years ago at Salt River by the Metis Council.

“It was a youth cabin. It was never occupied, though,” he said. “We had built three of them, actually. So there are two cabins that remain on the Metis land there at Salt River that will eventually be completed and available for youth.”

The approximately 14x16-foot cabin, which is valued at roughly $4,000 to $5,000, was loaded onto a trailer and moved about a half-kilometre near to McDonald’s old cabin site.

Several Fort Smith businesses assisted with the move.

The Salt River settlement is about 20 km west of Fort Smith on Highway 5 and a further 10 km north on an unpaved road.

“Right now, our office is also drumming up contributions from the community for pots, pans, bedding, whatever was lost in the fire,” Hudson said. “We’re also working on trying to acquire a used Ski-Doo for him and other things that were lost in that same fire.”

The staff at the Fort Smith Metis Council office has begun talking to local businesses and donations are already starting to come in.

“It was just a bare cabin when we gave him the keys, so I imagine he’ll be slowly moving stuff,” Hudson added. “As the contributions trickle in, I guess he’ll be including those in the cabin.”

The May 14 fire also destroyed a boat, a pickup, a van, a car, a shed and tools.

“I lost everything of what I owned and had gathered around,” McDonald said, who lived alone in the cabin for several years.

The Metis Council decided to help McDonald get a new cabin, even though he is not part of the Metis community but a member of Salt River First Nation (SRFN).

“We decided to do this because he’s an elder of the community,” Hudson said. “Those are different circumstances when an elder loses something or when an elder is in need. He’s looked on as an elder rather than what association he’s affiliated with.”

McDonald said he couldn’t get help to replace the cabin from SRFN.

Asked if he was disappointed by the lack of help from his own band, he said, “I can’t do nothing about it. I guess I was.”

McDonald said he is happy and surprised to get help from the Metis.

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