A few weeks after fighting the violent forest fires around their community last May, the residents of Wemotaci honored the 150 firefighters and volunteers who helped save their village.

Indeed, last July 15, hundreds of people gathered on the site of the former reserve of Wemotaci, which also burned down, to celebrate, through a medals ceremony, stories, songs and dances, the heroes of this huge fire that destroyed 90% of the forest that surrounds this Atikamekw community of 1300 persons, forced into exile for 11 days during the month of May.

During this very touching ceremony, the Chief of the community, Simon Coocoo, insisted on underlining the exemplary courage of people who have been honored. Other testimonies, including that of Mrs. Mary Coon, elder and shaman, have brought out the positive side of this sad event by emphasizing the strength and courage of the members of the community, the true nature of people, mutual aid, solidarity and compassion everyone has shown.

To close the event, the entire population was invited to participate in a large makokan followed by a solidarity evening featuring several First Nations artists.