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Siksika First Nation residents allowed to enter flood ravaged homes, community still in need of donations

The waters have receded, the politicians have come and gone, the State of Emergency will be lifted on Thursday and the media has moved on to other things.

But for hundreds of residents of Siksika First Nation — a reserve of with a population of about 4,000 people located 100 kilometres east of Calgary — their post-flood reality is just beginning.

On Monday and Tuesday, residents of the community devastated by June's overflowing Bow River were finally allowed back to their homes to gather some belongings and to assess the damage.

Donation coordinator Toni Good Eagle told Yahoo! Canada News that a large number residents' homes have been red-tagged meaning that they'll be inhabitable for weeks, months or even forever.

"We have mental health workers here because a lot of them are very devastated going into those homes right now.

"We've had elders here just crying. It's just very hard for them right now. I think they had a little bit of hope that they could go to their homes but they kind of lost hope a lot of them yesterday and today. So it's been very hard."

[ Related: Toronto floods: What you need to know about insurance ]

Like for all other Albertans affected by the floods, the provincial government has given Siksika Nation residents pre-loaded debit cards for short-term expenses. They've also been promised long-term financial support to help cover costs on uninsured properties.

In the meantime, however, the displaced are forced to live at hotels, at friends' homes, in tents or tepees or at the makeshift shelter located inside the community's sportsplex.

On Tuesday, there were only about 30 individuals at the shelter but that number fluctuates throughout the week based on whether and other factors.

[ Related: More about Alberta floods ]

The rec centre also serves as a depot for donations where residents can pick up items such as clothing, toiletries and even diapers.

Good Eagle says that many of the First Nation elders have found it difficult to access the help.

"That's why we have this tarp wall so that they have the privacy to go through these [donation boxes], " she said.

"It's been very hard for people who have nothing but the shoes on their feet who've had everything to go here and get help. It''s been tough. But they are coming in and a lot of them are coming in the evenings when the volunteers have left. They don't want people to see them."

Bags of unsorted donated goods fill up the sportsplex's hockey rink.

Good Eagle says that they have been overwhelmed by the number of donations. They've received goods from other First Nations throughout the country and from Canadians from British Columbia to Ontario.

She says that they have a lot of clothes but a shortage of things like tents, shoes, sleeping bags, new underwear and socks and of course cash.

Cash donations can be made through any branch of the Bank of Montreal.

Siksika spokesperson Wesley Water Chief told Yahoo! that it's too early to tell how many of the 171 homes shuttered will remain inhabitable and for how long.

(Photos by Andy Radia)

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