CBC Archives

For years, a chemical company dumped tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River System. Between 1962 and 1970, the situation at Grassy Narrows became critical. The mercury had found its way into the food chain and the fish became toxic. The people of the Aboriginal community of Grassy Narrows regularly ate fish from the river and soon began to show the symptoms of mercury poisoning. When the government determined that there was a hazard, the fishing industry shut down and Aboriginal guides were thrown out of work. The people of the Grassy Narrows community received millions of dollars in compensation from the federal government, the provincial government, and industry.

Students will research Mercury Rising: The Poisoning of Grassy Narrows on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site and draw conclusions about the extent of the problems facing the community and the kind and amount of compensation given to them by the government and industry. They will reflect on these questions:

Was this sufficient compensation? Was it appropriate to the ills facing the community?

What impact did the monetary gains have on the preservation of the Ojibwa lifestyle? To unemployment? To the health of those poisoned?

In what ways and to what extent were the social ills of the community attributable to the forced resettlement and the mercury poisoning?

Following this, they will examine the issues facing other Aboriginal communities and discuss compensation for these groups. They will devise plans to appropriately and effectively provide appropriate compensation to address the physical, emotional, cultural, and medical needs of these people. Groups will describe their plans in a persuasive essay format and an illustrated poster.

Have groups present their findings. As a class, try to arrive at a consensus regarding the ways Aboriginal peoples should be compensated.

If you wish, invite a local Aboriginal representative and/or a local federal politician to the class and present the class conclusions to generate a discussion on the issue of Aboriginal rights and compensation.