Social and Cultural Impacts of Mercury Pollution on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada

Among Aboriginal peoples in Canada, mercury pollution has had an impact on social and cultural well being, both at the community level and among individual members within the community, even when there are no provable direct health effects. This paper explores the link between mercury pollution and social and cultural disruption in Canadian Aboriginal communities. It demonstrates how factors such as Aboriginal holistic concepts of environment and health, perceptions, and difficulties in communication can contribute to indirect impacts of mercury pollution on health and well being. It is argued that, given the blood mercury levels among Canadian Aboriginal peoples, social and cultural impacts of mercury pollution present a much greater problem than do the direct clinical effects of exposure.