Nipissing First Nations dives into methylmercury at a local-level

By Kelly Anne Smith

NIPISSING FIRST NATION—Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are not the only type of chemical that Nipissing First Nation is testing fish for; Methylmercury is under the microscope, too.

Environment Manager Curtis Avery says Nipissing First Nation is bridging tradition and science with data from land use and occupancy mapping with concern for activities in the environment.

“We’re going to be looking at methylmercury levels within fish species and lakes within the area.”

What is methylmercury? Methylmercury is the most common organic mercury compound found in the environment, which bioaccumulates in the food chain, primarily through fish and shellfish, and is a potent neurotoxin that can cause neurological and other health problems.

Pointing to the First Nations Baseline Assessment Program map, Evaluating Methylmercury Risks in Fish Harvested from Nipissing First Nation’s Land Use and Occupancy Areas, Avery says, “You can see that people use all these lakes.”

Avery is talking about Manitou, Wawiashkashi, Mud, Tee, and Muskosung Lakes, as well as the Sturgeon River.

“We’re going to be looking at methylmercury levels within fish species and lakes within the area. And we will be doing that with the land use and occupancy data. I know what species come out of which lakes. What’s being consumed where our people are? Let’s do the study with the focus on those areas so we can have that baseline data to compare with in the future.”

Avery explains that methymercury is found in oligotrophic lakes, deep water, and low nutrients.

“Sometimes you have the forest roads that straddle the lakes and dust is created from the dirt roads. You see the dust on all the trees. No one really pays attention, but when the rain takes that dust and puts it into an area with very low nutrients, it creates these spikes in phosphorus and nitrogen. You can get spikes in methylmercury in fish pretty fast in oligotrophic lakes.”

“We’re looking for specific fish species and identifying the methylmercury rates. But at the same time, we’re going to be inventorying some of these lakes that haven’t had broad-scale monitoring conducted on them.”

Broad-scale monitoring is sampling on a large scale to get a comprehensive picture of the situation, so the Nipissing First Nation Environment Department is busy measuring and analyzing.

“To say we know what the methylmercury in the most commonly consumed fish species there. We are examining the whole area as a whole. What does the fish community look like?”

Water quality will be examined and lakes characterized as well.

“We still have an obligation to do our due diligence and advocate for our people out on the land,” Avery states, adding there is some mine development on Nipissing First Nation. “We have some mining components that are in the area and while they are doing a great job, we do work with them on baseline stuff. Mining is one vector of transportation of nutrients. There are also other issues with the type of mining that’s occurring. Is it in-ground? Is it above-ground? Is it some other technique?”

Avery talks of the need to get the data now and use it in the future for comparison.

“That informs decisions on what we’re seeing and what we can do to fix it. Most importantly, we’re advocating for our members so they don’t lose the use of anything. If you have data, you have the strength and the power and people listen to you, especially when research is good.”

Avery says the Environment Department has already been out gathering specimens and information.

“We’ve collected some fish. We’ve already done some water samples and looked at the basic phosphorus, nitrogen, and a whole suite of parameters. We’ll be using this to synthesize the final report to determine what are those baseline levels in our commonly consumed and documented fish species.”

The research is possible by the First Nations Baseline Assessment Program on Health and the Environment (BAPHE). It brings together First Nations, scientists, and principal investigators to obtain baseline data on human health and the environment. Avery is working on the project with Dean Fitzgerald who is a consultant, ecologist, and previously, a professor.

Meanwhile, Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin has established a mentorship in place to transfer research capacity under Tobias Associates to Nipissing First Nation’s Environment Manager, Curtis Avery.

“I’m working with Terry Tobias on Land Use and Occupancy mapping. He is mentoring me in Indigenous cultural methods because there is no standard in First Nation research. Research and design are not taught in university, not taught in school properly. It’s not intuitive. It is a very thoughtful science that is important to a lot of the work. Everything you do should be first rate.”

Avery says Tobias has taken the science from best practices in the 1970s with the Inuit land studies to bench-marking quality work.

“Terry’s worked with Indigenous in Australia and all throughout Canada. The data, the research, the way it’s conducted, not only stands up to negotiations at negotiation tables but also, when the time comes, at the Supreme Court,” Avery expresses. “It works for Indigenous people. It’s a solid method. Nothing that we’re doing is experimental. We do this now. We do it right. In some cases, if the communities are not ready, we won’t do it because we don’t want to do second-rate research that can harm community. These maps have a very long shelf life so we have to do this properly.”

Avery says land use and occupancy is just one type of mapping.

“There are other types that we have to do: travel route mapping, toponymic mapping, alienation mapping, mapping of critical wildlife and habitat, world history mapping. By the time we get all our maps there’s going to be nothing left that isn’t shown to be important to the Anishinaabe,” he explains. “The Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin is giving First Nations this ability to do these maps. I want to make sure when Terry retires, that I’ll be able to assist and carry that on. And hopefully, teach other people and be with other people to do the good research that he’s been able to do.”