This news in from our guest blogger from Alaska, Maricarmen Cruz-Guilloty, highlighting an upcoming conference call seminar entitled Aamjiwnaang: A culture in shock. It will take place TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 9:00 AM Alaska time (10:00 AM Pacific; 1:00 PM Eastern). You can sign up by following this link.
Here’s a description of the seminar topic and speaker:
Aamjiwnaang First Nation is an Aanishinaabek community located on the border between Ontario, Canada and Michigan, USA. Surrounded by 63 petrochemical refineries, Aamjiwnaang was called “The Most Polluted Spot in North America” by National Geographic staff. The World Health Organization concluded that Aamjiwnaang has “The Most Contaminated Air-shed” in Canada. Aamjiwnaang residents continue to be exposed to a range of harmful pollutants, including chemicals known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. They also have an alarmingly low number of baby boys being born: since the early 1990s, the number of boys born dropped from a normal ratio of roughly half of all births to a skewed ratio of two girls born for every boy. Researchers suspect the change may be caused by exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Join Ron Plain, founder of the Aamjiwnaang Environment Committee as he shares cultural impacts on citizens living on Aamjiwnaang, the research that opened the community’s eyes, and current arguments to counter the Government’s and industry’s blame-the-victim strategies for avoiding responsibility for the cumulative impacts of the pollution.