09/30/2026
The mercury contamination at Grassy Narrows has been called “one of the worst environmental and health disasters in Canadian history.”(5)
And its effects have lasted for generations. As Donna Mergler, lead author of a study on the intergenerational impacts of mercury exposure at Grassy Narrows, explains:
“When you eat fish with mercury and you’re pregnant, the mercury is actively transported across the placenta … that affects the [foetus] development.”
Katsi Cook, a Mohawk midwife, describes this relationship between pregnancy, the body and the natural world through the experience of women:
“Woman is the First Environment. In pregnancy, our bodies sustain life. At the breast of women, the generations are nourished. From the bodies of women flows the relationship of those generations, both to society and the natural world. In this way, the earth is our mother, the old people said. In this way, we as women are earth.”
What happens to our environment happens to our bodies. And when an environment is contaminated, the consequences can reach into pregnancy, fetal development, childhood, and the health of generations to come.
That’s why environmental contamination is a reproductive justice issue.
Grassy Narrows youth and community members have spent decades organizing for clean water, a healthy environment, Indigenous sovereignty and the right to determine their own future.
And Grassy Narrows is not alone. As of August 13th, 40 long-term drinking water advisories are in effect in 38 First Nations communities across Canada.
On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we can’t separate reconciliation from the conditions that shape Indigenous communities’ health, safety and ability to determine their own futures.
Environmental justice is Reproductive Justice. And Environmental Justice is part of reconciliation.
