Contaminants poison reserves

Last week, the country was abuzz with the news that Stephen Harper had at last offered an official apology to the Aboriginal people of Canada for the atrocities that occurred in residential schools. Aboriginal leaders were, in general, receptive to the apology but point out the conditions on First Nations reserves are in many cases abysmal and action is needed to improve conditions and salvage what remains of the traditional way of life. 

One contributing factor in the erosion of the traditional lifestyle and therefore culture is environmental degradation on reserves. Unlike the residential schools, the deterioration of the environment affects all of us. However, Aboriginal people are at particularly high risk because, traditionally, they depend on local fish and wildlife for a larger part of their diet. In the 1970s, the Grassy Narrows and White Dog reserves made headlines when large numbers of people living on these reserves were found to be suffering from mercury poisoning. This poisoning was traced to high mercury levels in waterways on the reserves, which led to high mercury levels in fish that were consumed by reserve residents.

Unfortunately, the experience of the Grassy Narrows and White Dog reserve residents is not unique. The construction of hydroelectric plants along the St. Lawrence River has led to the contamination of the river and land along the river in Ontario, Quebec, and northern New York state with PCBs.

PCBs are a particular problem for people who eat local fish and wildlife because they bioaccumulate. PCBs are not very soluble in water but are very soluble in fat. Therefore, when PCBs enter a small fish’s body, rather than being excreted, they are stored in the small fish’s fatty tissues. If a larger fish eats 100 small fish it will then store all the PCBs from the 100 small fish in its fatty tissues. 

If we then come along and eat 10 large fish, we will then be storing the PCB from 1,000 small fish in our fatty tissues. Because breast milk contains a high percentage of fat, if a mother has PCBs stored in her fat, she will pass them along to her child in breast milk. This is what has happened at the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. The Akwesasne people had to stop eating local fish and wildlife because of the PCB levels that were found in their bodies and, in doing so, part of their culture was taken away.

These problems persist on reserves to the present day. The Aamjiwnaang First Nation reserve near Sarnia is located in the heart of petrochemical manufacturing country. Its soil and water has been found to be contaminated with dioxins, PCBs, pesticides, and metals. The Aamjiwnaang people have to put up with odours, are unable to swim or fish in their rivers and have high rates of asthma in children. Speaking of children, at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, two girls were born for every boy and it is hypothesized that endocrine disrupters were to blame for this.

We have highlighted three cases of extreme environmental stresses on First Nations people, however, the problem is pervasive and collectively all Canadians, including Aboriginal people, will need to find a way to solve it.

– Andrew Laursen is an assistant professor at Ryerson University. Sophia Dore is an environmental scientist with Conestoga-Rovers & Associates.