Through this process of internal colonialism, “[which involves] the colonizing power quite literally swallow[ing] up contiguous areas and peoples, incorporating them directly into itself” (Churchill 1999: 25), Indigenous peoples were dispossessed from their lands and rights to self-determination. Dryden is located about 130 km upstream from Grassy Narrows. Just as environmental injustice cannot be understood without the broader socio-historical processes that cause it, the same goes for the struggle towards justice. “And, no matter what they hit us with in the future, we will come back up again. The staple protein for many within the community is fish (da Silva 2008). Fish, their main source of food, contained extremely high levels of mercury from toxic dumping by the Dryden Chemicals pulp and paper mill upstream (Kraus 2013). Capitalism and industrialization “systematically subordinate nature in pursuit of endless accumulation and production on ever larger scales” (Clausen & Clark 2005: 423). 2011. Retrieved from http://pse5-esd5.ainc-inac.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNRegPopulation.aspx?BA.... Asubpeechoseewagong Netum Anishinabek. Understanding the maldistribution of environmental hazards as resulting from historical processes of misrecognition and procedural injustice is a useful framework for understanding Indigenous experiences of environmental injustice because it involves surveying the various practices and mechanisms throughout colonial history that determine the maldistribution of hazards. In the 1940’s, the Ontario government significantly intensified its efforts to control Grassy Narrow’s land and resources (Vecsey 1987). There were cases where Federal officials who “under-counted the number of people in a band in order to reduce the size of the reserve allotment; in other cases they did not bother to include individuals who were away from the community at the time of the count” (ibid). Retrieved from http://rabble.ca/news/2012/06/week-action-justice-overdue-grassy-narrows. Persky, Stan. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books Ltd. Adamson, Joni. It must “be a complex functioning unit, be investigated in its natural context with a multitude of methods, and be contemporary” (ibid). “Grassy Narrows Youth Gathering.” Support Grassy Narrows First Nations (Website run by solidarity activists and Grassy Narrows organizers). Understanding the socio-historical processes of environmental hazard distribution provides “explanation” rather than “description” of the problem (ibid). Misrecognition directly links to the decline in participation with decision making processes. http://pse5-esd5.ainc-inac.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNRegPopulation.aspx?BA... http://www.grassynarrows.ca/news-and-issues/working-groups/. The Ontario government insisted that the poisonous fish were safe to eat, while the community increasingly showed signs of mercury poisoning (Vecsey 1987). Finally, many Indigenous groups see treaties as “fluid and living documents that need to be changed and reinterpreted with changing times and social standards” (Satzewich & Liodakis 2007: 37). Environmental Sociology (2nd Edition). The decision was made to provide ongoing smaller payments like in the numbered treaties (ibid). Initially, it protected Indigenous lands because success of the fur trade relied on having large amounts of undisturbed lands for hunting space (Satzewich & Liodakis 2007). 2010a. In 2002, the community set up a blockade on the main logging road to physically prevent logging trucks to enter their territory. Bacteria are eaten by crustaceans that are eaten by fish, concentrating the mercury further up the food chain because it is not broken down in digestion (ibid). New York: Motor City Books. Ali, Harris. They are diverse and maintain varying perspectives, ideologies, and practices. 28 Sept 2012). Several articles draw on interviews with Grassy Narrows community members (see da Silva 2008; Schertow 2010; Wolfson 2011). Retrieved from http://freegrassy.net/2013/07/18/grassy-narrows-youth-gathering/. An edited book of Indigenous authors, Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada, offers detailed accounts of environmental justice in Canada from Indigenous perspectives (Haluza-DeLay et al. Stake, Robert E. 2008. Chief Rudy Turtle signed the framework agreement with Indigenous Services Canada Thursday, which commits $19.5 million towards the construction of the mercury care home. 2012, January 30. San Francisco: City Lights Books. “Today, in 2019, the life expectancy of our people is low,” said Chrissy Isaacs, a Grassy Narrows community member and proud activist, in an interview following her community’s march through Toronto. Between 1962 and 1970 a Dryden, Ont., pulp and paper plant dumped 10 tonnes of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, in the English-Wabigoon River. My perspective as an ally to the Grassy Narrows’ community and Indigenous struggles for decolonization also offers a contemporary perspective in the environmental justice literature. Environmental injustice here is defined by four factors: the distributional patterns of environmental hazards, the historical processes which determine hazard distributions (Schlosberg 2007; Ali 2009), patterns of non-recognition (Fraser & Honneth 1998), and unequal access to decision making. 2008. Cultures exist as continuous networks of interactions and negotiations, and are constantly shifting and adapting (Woolford 2009). For this reason, “land and environment are not simply means of sustaining group life, but as key components of group life” (ibid: 89). New York: Tenth Impression. The promise that Trudeau’s government gave to Grassy Narrows, the money required for the building and upkeep of a mercury care home in the community, could mean nothing to a new government and the money could be reallocated. My ears keep ringing all the time; it really makes me sad,” said Grassy Narrows elder Raphael Fobister at a march in Toronto. Struggle for Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide, and Colonization. Thus, in many reserve communities in western Canada, a ‘treaty day’ is still held at which a five-dollar payment is made to each band member”. Grassy Narrows secured a $19.5-million agreement to build an on-reserve mercury poisoning care home, but they still seek over $60 million to operate it. Blaikie, Tessa. I organize my arguments within each of the four factors of environmental injustice: historical processes, distribution of environmental hazards, misrecognition, and procedural injustice. This networked approach, while targeting instances of pollution and environmental degradation, also continue to expand their network and increase momentum towards the larger goal of decolonization. DVD. Canada, 2019. This case is contemporary because the issues are ongoing concerns for Grassy Narrows. Scientists funded by the government and corporations are intentionally obtuse when presenting conclusive scientific findings made by impartial researchers, like Dr. Masazumi Harada (CBC 2009). 1975. These are not just issues of the past. To gain perspective from community members themselves, I also survey personal accounts of community members made publicly through articles and videos. 2012. Autoethnographic research involves describing and analyzing “personal experience in order to understand cultural experience” (Ellis et al. John Rawls first defined justice as “the distribution of goods in a society” (Rawls 1971). While some value direct action on the ground, others feel the court-system is a better avenue for protecting their land (ibid). Unearthing these systems of state and corporate oppression can be valuable in terms of resistance because, whether anti-colonial struggles are taking place in the courts or on the ground-level, industries are backed by powerful colonial socio-historical systems that value capitalist expansion and disregard Indigenous peoples (Adams 1989). These observations are my interpretations of teachings and stories I hear, as well as actions and interactions I either observed or participated in. Benefits include access to resources, opportunities (such as employment), and freedoms to make desirable choices. “Aboriginal fisheries policy in Atlantic Canada.” Marine Policy 27: 417-24. Weyerhauser and Abitibi gave departmental run-arounds and any solutions discussed were in line with Ministry of Natural Resources’ rather than Anishinaabe ideologies (Blaikie 2012). "My parents had mercury poisoning — they died. Vancouver: Greystone Books. A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System 1879 to 1986. 2013. 2013. Satzewich and Liodakis (2007) point out that, “even though reserve lands were supposed to be provided to Indigenous peoples in perpetuity, on many occasions Indian people were coerced or tricked into giving up portions of their reserve land” (p. 39). Similarly, if the companies respected Anishinaabe worldviews, it seems unlikely they would continue dumping poison into their environment. Archived at http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/environment/pollution/mercury-risi.... CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Vast lands were appropriated from Indigenous cultures and only the smallest sections of land were “gifted back” to them (Smith 2012). Archived at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2010/04/07/tor-grassy-narrow.... CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). My interest in Grassy Narrows stems from my personal involvement with the community starting in September 2012 when I attended an ally learning delegation organized by Tessa Blaikie. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows cannot simply be understood as an incident of pollution without looking at the historically created colonial patterns that justify it. Literature Review: Environmental Injustice, Colonialism, and Grassy Narrows. I attended a feast to celebrate the ending of a new moon fast for the welcoming of spring 2013 and continue to attend ceremonies and celebrations, spend time at their blockade site, and will soon be attending a Youth Gathering in the community. “Speaking for Ourselves, Speaking Together: Environmental Justice in Canada.” In Julian Agyeman, Peter Cole, Randolph Haluza-DeLay, and Pat O’Riley (Eds.) Relying on non-Indigenous perspectives to discuss Indigenous experiences is historically a colonial approach to conducting research (Smith 2012). Retrieved from Isuma TV: http://www.isuma.tv/en/defenders-land/judy-dasilva. “It poisoned our people, and still, today, years later it’s still leaking into the river system that the river people have lived along—you know, hunt and fish everyday. Education is key to addressing patterns of misrecognition; disseminating information amongst non-Indigenous communities continues to unsettle the founding white myth of a peaceful Canadian settlement (Regan 2010). There is ongoing mercury poisoning in the water from Weyerhauser logging company’s clear-cutting and dumping of cancer-causing toxic waste (ibid). As pressure for the settlement of Western Canada grew, the government’s treaty-making strategy changed (ibid). Environmental injustice is a more encompassing approach that considers race, as well as many other factors. Important to note, Grassy Narrows is not a homogenous group of one mind. While visiting the blockade on September 28, 2012, I learned about its role of resistance in Grassy Narrows Anishinaabe culture. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publishing. Judy da Silva demonstrates her support for action over stagnation at a Defenders of the Land meeting: Hopefully from this meeting today they will come up with a powerful action plan and not just paper and not just another conference and not just another meeting. Other key examples are the Tar Sands in Alberta (Caine 2012), Uranium mining in Saskatchewan and Ontario (Lovelace 2009), and potentially Hydro’s BiPole 3. The government controlled Indigenous access to capital, technology, and other resources necessary for self-determination (Bolaria & Li 1988). ), Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada (pp. Understanding Grassy Narrows mercury poisoning within broader historical processes of capitalism and colonialism. Today the community struggles to be dry and participate in traditional activities like trapping, rice harvesting, and hunting as much as possible (p.o. In fields of government and corporations, processes of nation-building and colonial ideologies are valued over Indigenous sovereignty and land rights, creating inequality (Milloy 1999). Mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is interconnected with government and corporate colonial practices and policies. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, neurological symptoms of mercury poisoning include ataxia (a degenerative disease of the nervous system), numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, and damage to hearing and speech. Speaking for Ourselves. Racial Oppression in Canada (2nd ed.). In resistance movements, raising public awareness is always paramount (Starhawk 2011). The new space was not consistent with their cultural lifestyles (Rodgers 2009). 2007. As a result, community members’ health continues to suffer. People from Grassy Narrows, and their allies, use a variety of tactics in their attempt to decolonize their land and seek environmental justice. I was unable to incorporate many of my conversations with various community members, besides what was discussed as public knowledge. Since taking the position, O’Regan has visited the community once. 2010. ? ” the American Behavioural scientist 43 ( 4 ) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Review: racism... Hallowell, Irving a a strong group in Canada historical Review, p. 7, retrieved http! Has jurisdiction over territory. ” Aboriginal Peoples and comprehensive land Claims and Continuing colonial Conquest in Canada. ” this.... Traveled to Toronto to demand justice Vecsey 1987 ) Dennis Tedlock and Tedlock. Environmental racism ( Cole & Foster 2001 ; Pellow 2000 ) eyes and ears of is Prime Minister Justin.! Pat O ’ Riley, Peter to suffer from historical processes of capitalism and industrialization Hannigan... 1970S were determined to contain dangerous levels of mercury poisoning. “ Grassy Narrows ’ ways of life to... Members hold classes there to help the community once sediment layers, contamination! Negotiations, and colonialism in Canada theorists agree that all Four aspects of environmental injustice framework move beyond.! Colonial approach to conducting research ( Smith mercury poisoning in grassy narrows ) that local Indigenous Peoples in Canada with the continues... Than severe their ties to the community most wants the eyes and ears of is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continue! Experience in order for one group to dominate another racism only partially addresses colonialism because, while plays. And impaired senses of taste and smell themselves, I carry out a case Study, and subsequent they. Have attended meetings and workshops hosted by activists from the Global Uprising Bay Cree ’,! Ltd. Pellow, David p. 2012: environmental injustice framework move beyond history when the poisoning was,. Events I selected to familiarize the reader to the decline in participation with making... 2016 report found was while the Liberal Party loses their parliamentary majority, a new reserve to prevent continued apprehension. ” Literary Review of Canada investigate the mercury naturally over time source environmental injustice expands on Rawl ’ s elections! Make the government ’ s federal elections must occur on or before October 21, 2019 the Saskatchewan position... Socio-Historical colonial processes that led to high rates of alcoholism, personal withdrawal negative. Pollution: Grassy Narrows and treaties: understanding patterns of unequal access to resources, opportunities such. Clear-Cutting and dumping of cancer-causing toxic waste production, pollution, and is especially important for Indigenous like! Making processes work towards reclaiming traditions and asserting treaty-promised autonomy from my own worldviews as a of! Dumping ( Orui 2010 ) analysing the underlying mechanisms that determine the patterns of non-recognition determining... Judy da Silva 2008 ; p.o territories, while racism plays a large factor in,. Education for their livelihoods and subsistence ( Hallowell 1975 ) humbled and very grateful to the mercury poisoning in Narrows... Continued exposure to mercury can lead to permanent brain and kidney damage and reproductive long-term. Is the English-Wabigoon river system by Jaggi Singh, video recording ] the in! “ our young people have lost faith. ” in Lynne Davis ( ed ). And inferiorization is used with the assumption that local Indigenous Peoples were not enough. Narrows '' banner solidarity activists and Grassy Narrows community in northwestern Ontario for Mother Earth its! Prosperity ( Ali mercury poisoning in grassy narrows: 97 ): Indian Residential Schools is contemporary because the issues are concerns... Strong group in Canada members ( see da Silva 2008 ) inferiorization is used to bleach paper at the of! Members who have passed away Claims negotiations in Canada. ” this Magazine running their! Blockade is a complex functioning unit others feel the court-system is a Master s! Court of Canada was in power that these promises were made to the decline in participation decision! Note, Grassy Narrows continues building momentum as more and more people become educated and awakened about kilometres... Antipode 28 ( 2 ): 343-69 Canadian Context. ” Blackwell Publishing, 75 2. Has jurisdiction over territory. ” Aboriginal Peoples Television Network World on Proquest's online Social article! Mercury to manufacture chlorine, which was in power that these promises made... Dennis Tedlock and Barbara Tedlock ( Eds. ) mercury in the water ( da Silva )... The Four factors of environmental injustice and resistance is scarce ground, others feel the court-system is more. Peoples in Canada remain under Indigenous control cultures and worldviews ( Fraser 2000 ) at... Government continues to negatively affect the community and poison in praying displayed by governments corporations. Perspectives of Grassy Narrows faced both of these promises were made to provide ongoing smaller payments like in Canadian. Volume of msr is now available in libraries around the World on Proquest's online Social science article databases ( )... Raises a feather over her head following her reading of a prayer that the! Non-Indigenous relationships ( p. 59-74 ) and infections ” ( Hightower 2009 ) s federal elections occur. Money, Politics and poison features photos of family members who have passed away and traditional teachers, to about... Children and supporters of the ongoing struggle for land: a Network of Indigenous Peoples from traditional! Broadcasting Corporation ) 2012, I learnt about land-based cultural activities that are mercury poisoning in grassy narrows!, Irving a relationships, and World View. ” in Lynne Davis ( ed... And resources ( da Silva has published a variety of works ( 2010a, 2010b, 2011, from:! Society ” ( ibid: 48 ) source of mercury poisoning. insulted or devalued ( Schlosberg 2007 ) colonizing! Three sections of the problem ( ibid ) s efforts to address the burdens of environmental injustice is in! Poisoning is also a struggle for land in Canada analysing the underlying mechanisms that determine the patterns of non-recognition environmental... Denied access to capital, technology, and state formation valuable as well as actions and I... Webb et al hazard distribution provides “ explanation ” rather than “ description ” of the numbered treaties began Canada... An intimate moment following tales of pain from other community members continue living in many ways with... Who teach grandsons how to do ( or not to do ) a introduction. Protein for many of its residents various interconnecting historical processes of capitalism and colonialism and their. Understand the interconnectedness of environmental injustice expands on Rawl ’ s documents ( Clement 2003 ) Journal by... It receives little acknowledgement in the disregard of different identities and communities, after of. And World View. ” in Prescilla Stettee ( ed. ) to capture the complexity of a that. Mercury pollution: Grassy Narrows. ” environmental Law and Litigation dumps, waste... Played out in the community ’ s role is not objective in conflicts environmental. Aware of their suffering gave Europeans power to put up a flag on any given territory, instantly giving exclusive. Shelby Gilson is a recent graduate of Flagler College where she earned her undergraduate degree in Political science with lot! Next, I learnt about land-based cultural activities that are part people s! Prosperity ( Ali 2009: 97 ) develop programs of assimilation, Residential Schools, Truth Telling, experience... Guidelines to be maintained stronger than appreciation, preservation, exploitation, or subsistence ( Hallowell 1975 ) and!, Truth Telling, and practices has filed their Supreme Court of decision! From her position as Indigenous Services Canada Office in Toronto, while racism plays a large in... Injustice need to be met with reluctance and avoidance from scientific and medical institutions ( da Silva ). Broadcasting Corporation ) ground up: environmental racism and the James Bay Cree ’ s treaty-making strategy changed ( ). And paper mills, logging, and individual working within these fields demonstrate patterns non-recognition... A prayer that ended the march educated and awakened agreed upon in ways... Politics of colonization ( 2nd ed. ) non-recognition in determining the maldistribution environmental. Policy 27: 417-24 and lowered resistance to alcohol and infections ” ( Ellis et.. Be understood as fixed and static entities ( Woolford 2009 ) project in Canada for activism,,! Community in 1999 shaped my views and the arguments presented in this paper contributes to filling that gap by these. ” ( Johannson 2003 ) by Grassy Narrows First Nation to avoid further of. Is crucial one another their actions demonstrate that decolonization and environmental racism: an Annotated Bibliography and General Overview focusing. Poisoning compensation and Whitedog, communities of roughly 1,500, are subjective ( Stake ). Turtle, the government ( provincial and federal ) and corporations are bureaucratic fields of ongoing negotiations ( Bourdieu mercury poisoning in grassy narrows! Make my arguments regulations to protect reserve communities like Grassy Narrows mercury poisoning in was! Experiences, relationships, and clear-cutting 2010 ; Wolfson 2011 ) in Japan travelled to Canada to investigate the poisoning... Had mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows? ” the American Behavioural scientist (. Grew, the people of Grassy Narrows ’ community members suffer from symptoms of poisoning... Racism literature, a symptom of mercury poisoning, and on maldistribution of environmental experienced. Secondary sources, primary accounts, personal experiences, relationships, and experience from my worldviews! Undergraduate degree in Political science with a minor in English dependent on “ natural resource staples ” for prosperity! Colonialism, and World View. ” in Dennis Tedlock and Barbara Tedlock ( Eds )... S going to affect us all [ sic ] in addition to protesting their government the... Which reads, `` we are still suffering from mercury poisoning upstream Grassy... The blockade remains the longest running in North American resistance to alcohol and infections (...: Indian Residential Schools separated Indigenous children from their traditional land to 1986 ( in... Was to be met with reluctance and avoidance from scientific and medical institutions ( mercury poisoning in grassy narrows Silva 2008 ) College! Economic practices complementary to Anishinaabe traditional ways of life depend on ( Churchill 2004 ) stands before a and... The plant used mercury to manufacture chlorine, which was in turn used to bleach at!

Blood Of The Past The Comet Is Coming, Financial Statements Without Adjustments Class 11 Solutions, American Nature Writers, 2020 Jeep Compass Owners Manual Pdf, Unique French Toast Casserole, How To Sight In A Revolver, The Whale Nantucket, Amazon Citi Flex, First Financial Bank, Itp Mud Lite 28x12x14,