Our Ancestors are in Our Land, Water, and Air

The Indigenous Speakers Series presents
“Our Ancestors are in Our Land, Water, and Air: a ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ Approach to Researching Environmental Health Concerns with Pictou Landing First Nation”
with Kim Strickland, Sheila Francis, Lexy Francis, and Diana Lewis

Responding to the longstanding pollution of Boat Harbour, and the environmental health concerns and social tensions around it, the Pictou Landing Native Women¹s Association has mobilized community-based research and capacity-building to determine: “Are we getting sick from Boat Harbour?”

Speaker info:
Kim Strickland is a lifelong resident of the Pictou Landing First Nation, and Community Research Associate in the Health, Environment, and Communities Research Lab.

Sheila Francis is the former President of the Pictou Landing Native Women’s Association and facilitated the emerging partnership between PLNWA and the research team.

Lexie Strickland is from Pictou Landing First Nation and 16 years old. She has been working with her mom, Kim, with an interest in the environmental monitoring aspects of this project for 3 years. After high school, she plans to continue her education in environmental science.

Diana Lewis hails from the Indian Brook First Nation and has worked for Aboriginal organizations in Ontario and NS, the federal and provincial governments, and the private and non-profit sectors. She is a PhD candidate & faculty in Sociology & Anthropology, and Coordinator for the new Indigenous Minor Program at Dalhousie University.