-
The roughly 850 Anishinabek residents of Aamjiwnaang are in a situation reminiscent of the contest between David and Goliath. They are determined to protect their ancestral lands from over forty petrochemical companies. Dubbed “Chemical Valley”, the region was, not so long ago, a source of national pride. In the early 70s, the Canadian 10-dollar bill was adorned with an image of one of the local refineries.
The assault on the land began in 1827, when the British seized the area around the Great Lakes. Treaty 29 created four reservations, including Aamjiwnaang. Over the years, through controversial lands deals, their territory shrunk from 10,000 to 3,100 acres. What they lost became the property of Shell, Enbridge, Suncor, Imperial Oil, Dow Chemicals, amongst roughly forty others. The list of noxious leaks is long, and so is that of the health concerns caused by daily toxic emissions.
In response, resistance is strong. In this toxic landscape, Aamjiwnaang remains a green lung, a haven for all its dwellers.
Our Grandfathers Were Chiefs
Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Ontario
2010-2017 -
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Mckay looks for Butler’s Gartersnakes. In Ontario, these ophidians are considered ‘endangered’ and therefore are protected by the Species at Risk Act (SARA). In Aamjiwnaang, where some have been spotted, a group of four young men are tasked with keeping track of them. By proving that the territory is a haven for species such as this snake, the community hopes to strengthen claims to protect their land. June 2016.
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Kids play with glow in the dark beach balls while waiting for the Solidarity day fireworks to start. The community’s baseball field is located across from the Arlanxeo plant, which manufactures synthetic rubber. The products using their materials range from tires, to pharmaceutical injection vials and chewing gum. June 2016.
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Plan showing surrenders, expropriations and lands having no record of sale within Original Sarnia Indian Reserve No.45 [now Aamjiwnaang First Nation], drafted by ‘Indian’ and Northern Affairs Canada [now Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada]. The green demarcation represents the boundaries of Aamjiwnaang as defined by Treaty 29 signed in 1827. The yellow, the current boundaries of Aamjiwnaang. The red, major petrochemical sites. Date uknown.
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Holiday card with a painting by Canadian artist Donald Mackay Houstoun (1916-2004) commissioned by Dow Chemicals of Canada, which writes that the piece of art “captures the dramatic and colourful effect of the special Christmas lights installed on the towers of the Styrene plant.” Date unknown
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Dennis sports the regalia he fashioned from a red coat, once the uniform of the British army. It’s adorned with symbols of Western imperialism such as the Royal Air Cadets patch and the US Deputy Marshal badge, and those of Indigenous resistance like the Mohawk Warrior Society flag, the OKA stitch and beading which he learned from Elders. August 2016.
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
Mckay holds a red-bellied snake. In local lore, Snake is Mother Earth’s protector. The Aamjiwnaang community, involved in an ophidian species census, is hoping to use these numbers to demonstrate why the territory ought to be defended against further industry encroachment. June 2016.
-
![]()
Bio | Website | +1 514 796 3588
In 2014, members of the Bkejwanong First Nation (Walpole Island), Aazhoodena First Nation (Kettle and Stony Point) and Aamjiwnaang came together for a 120 km canoe journey and walk connecting their homes which span along the shores of Lake Huron and the St.Clair River to honour Mother Earth and pass on traditions August 2014.
-
To make the most of his retirement, my father decided to leave his Montreal suburb apartment and relocate to Inverness, a village of 800 in the heartland of Quebec. The decision wasn’t completely surprising. The hamlet was somewhat of an idyll in my immediate family’s history: my parents lived there briefly in the 70s, amidst other young couples in search of alternatives to the hustle and bustle of urban dwelling. Hippies, essentially − though there they were referred to as “Youks”, a name derived from how locals would wonder, in their patois, “where are they coming from and where are they going?”
At the time they were the last in a long line of newcomers who settled on the shores of the Bécancour River in search of independence.
Tales of Inverness
Inverness, Quebec
2017
-
-
-
Share