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Aamjiwnaang First Nation
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The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formerly Chippewas of Sarnia First Nation; Ojibwe: Aamjiwnaang Anishinaabek, lit. 'at the spawning stream') is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) First Nations Band located on reserve land by the St. Clair River in Ontario, Canada, three miles south of the southern tip of Lake Huron. The reserve is located across from the United States border from Port Huron, Michigan, and is a result of treaties that were negotiated with the Crown in the 1820s. There are approximately 2,600 band members with about 900 living on the reserve. Their heritage language is Ojibwe.
The word Aamjiwnaang (am-JIN-nun) means "meeting place by the rapid water", which describes the surrounding communities.
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Environmental issues
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The Aamjiwnaang community has expressed concern regarding its proximity to petrochemical, polymer, and chemical plants in the area, as birth rates of their people have been documented by the American journal Environmental Health Perspectives as deviating from the normal ratio of close to 50% boys, 50% girls.[4] The ratio as found between 1999 and 2003 by the journal was roughly 33% boys, and 67% girls,[5] the lowest live male birth rate in Canada.[6][7]
On April 25, 2024 Aamjiwnaang announced a state of emergency after preliminary data from an air pollutant monitor in the community showed elevated levels of benzene.[8] Seven days earlier, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks issued a provincial order to nearby Ineos Styrolution, and the facility shutdown operations temporarily.[9]
On May 17, 2024, in response to the state of emergency in April, the federal government issued an Interim Order to the petrochemical industry in Sarnia.[10] It targeted petrochemical plants whose fenceline benzene levels were above 29 μg/m³ in any two-week sample between March 1, 2023 and February 29, 2024. Facilities in excess of this concentration must add vapour control measures. The order was in effect for 14 days after its issue, but on May 28, 2024 the interim order was extended for a period of two years.[11]
On March 26, 2025, the “Reduction in the Release of Volatile Organic Compounds (Storage and Loading of Volatile Petroleum Liquids) Regulations” were finalized,[12] which apply to manufacturing plants and refineries to require emission control equipment.[13]
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Demographics
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Notable members
- Lisa Jackson (filmmaker)[18]
- Christopher Plain - Previous Chief [19]
- June Simon - Band Manager [20]
- Carolyn Nahmabin - Membership [21]
- Fred Plain - Former President of the Union of Ontario Indians
- David D. Plain - Author of The Plains of Aamjiwnaang:Our History [22]
See also
References
External links
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