Wasting Indigenous Communities: A Case Study with Garden Hill and Wasagamack First Nations in Northern Manitoba, Canada

A case study of solid waste management in two fly-in Indigenous communities in Canada shows waste management poses high risk to human health and is contaminating land and water. All community members (n=27) who were interviewed in the two communities reported open dumping and burning their waste, including e-waste and healthcare waste. This burning of waste was typically adjacent to each home in the community due to the lack of any waste or recycling collection service or options for recycling or safe disposal. Without a sanitary landfill or recycling programs, non-biodegradable and toxic wastes in these communities contaminate the land and water. Stratified composite soil samples taken at the largest dumpsite in each community revealed that arsenic, lead, chromium, zinc and copper typically exceeded Canadian soil environmental guidelines, including industrial guidelines. Many Indigenous people spoke of the land as sacred and saw themselves as stewards of their territorial land but felt the toxicity of modern waste and the lack of funding or services to deal with it compromised their stewardship role. Waste management of non-biodegradable products, other than burning, was considered to be beyond their control with the few resources available to them.