Colonization, the Environment and Indigenous Health Outcomes: A Literature Review of Environmental Hazard Exposure and Health Outcomes on Reserves in Canada

Approximately 49 percent of 637,660 federally recognized status First Nations Peoples live on reserves in Canada. The creation of the reserve system and continuation of colonialist governance devastate Indigenous Peoples, particularly through environmental dispossession (i.e., the inability to access their lands and resources), exposure to industrial pollution, and contaminated air, water and food sources which result in poor health outcomes. Exposure to contaminants is known have adverse health (and fatal) outcomes on humans, specifically with prolonged, chronic exposure (i.e., persistent and prolonged) through inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption. Chemical contaminants are abundantly present in, and around Indigenous reserves in Canada due to accidental spills, emissions and leaching from refineries, manufactures and processing industries located near reserves. This is due to the intentional placement industries in “pollutable” lands (to be later discussed) and corporate negligence of pollutants of chemicals on human and environmental health. Combined, these actions are considered environmental racism, as there are known hazards present within proximity to reserves, yet there is little action to prevent contamination and exposure. The focus of environmental racism is on racialized non-white communities and the environment, which promotes the ongoing, long-standing power dynamic between in the Canadian state and Indigenous Peoples and results in the loss of identity and land through European settlement and the creation of reserves. The construction of pipelines, industrial factories, agriculture and mining facilities through Indigenous Territories are just some of the many ways in which environmental racism take form in Canada, as these developments disregard land ownership and sovereignty. This review attempts to draw attention to the interconnectedness between colonialism (and environmental racism), environmental hazard exposure and poor health outcomes, in addition to the importance of Indigenous-informed and led policies.

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