Title

In Land and Life: Cadmium and Health Implications for Indigenous Communities in Central Alberta

Fiscal Year

2011-2012

Community/Region

Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation and Paul First Nation, Alberta

Principal Investigator

Dr. Stéphane McLachlan

Community Project Lead

Misty Potts-Sanderson (Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation)

Project Members

Ryan Brook, Carmen Fuentealba, Paul Jones, Zachary Potts, Misty Potts-Sanderson, Joyce Slater, Shirley Thompson and Anna Weier

Project Summary

The Elders and members of Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation and Paul First Nation were concerned with the decrease in the number of moose west of Edmonton. The area was home to many resource extraction industries including mining, oil and gas exploration, and agriculture. The overall goal of this project was to better understand the health risks from environmental contaminants by bringing together traditional knowledge and scientific data. The project examined how changes to land use had impacted the health of traditional food. It aimed to describe the human consumption of wild-caught food, and to determine if these foods could pose health risks due to pollution.

The project team interviewed community members including Elders, harvesters, and meat cutters on changes to traditional food, and on potential sources of contaminants. The team collected samples of soil, water, plants, and animals from a cross-section of traditional hunting areas.

The research found the environment was contaminated with heavy metals. Most of the country foods were safe to eat, according to contaminant levels set by the Government of Canada. However, the report listed many exceptions depending on the location of the samples. The report recommended caution when eating wildlife, particularly among women and children. The lab testing generally supported the community’s concern about the impacts to wildlife (mainly moose, fish and waterfowl) and to environmental health from these industries. Moose muscle and whitefish were deemed safe to eat. Moose liver showed elevated levels of cadmium, mercury and selenium but were within safe levels. Other fish species should have limited consumption, as detailed in the final report. Soil, water and traditional plants had elevated levels of heavy metals but were within safe levels, with a few exceptions. The team concluded that the size and location for samples should be expanded.