Environmental Data Justice Lab, M. Murphy, Vanessa Gray, Kristen Bos, Reena Shada, Beze Gray, Fernanda Yanchapaxi
An Indigenous-led project documenting the environmental and health impacts of the Imperial Oil Refinery on Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
The Land and the Refinery: Past, Present, Future serves as a powerful example of how Indigenous and disability justice converge in technologically informed environmental activism. The project, led by Aamjiwnaang First Nation, documents the severe health impacts from environmental contamination, addressing both Indigenous sovereignty and community health as inseparable issues.Tech Literacy & Accessibility: The project educates users on environmental impacts on Indigenous lands, blending tech literacy on pollution monitoring with accessibility to environmental health information—a critical tool for Indigenous and disability justice.Reducing Harm in New Media: By making pollution histories visible, the project challenges the systemic erasure of Indigenous voices and the health harms inflicted on the community. It supports community-led advocacy that simultaneously addresses Indigenous rights and disability justice through environmental health.Data & Knowledge Stewardship: Through its Indigenous-led archival work, the project safeguards Aamjiwnaang's health and environmental data, promoting data sovereignty as it relates to both Indigenous and disability justice frameworks. By preserving these histories, it creates a vital resource for the community’s long-term advocacy and wellness.
How does The Land and the Refinery showcase Indigenous innovation by using technology to make environmental harms visible? What can this teach us about leveraging tech for Indigenous and disability justice outside a technocapitalist framework?What accessibility accommodations would enhance this project for a broader audience, ensuring it aligns with its commitment to Indigenous and disability justice?How does the project embody harm reduction by using tech to mitigate the silencing of Indigenous communities and documenting pollution’s health impacts? What role can cultural projects play in amplifying community-led resistance?What lessons does this project provide on data sovereignty and ethical stewardship, particularly in preserving health and environmental records under Indigenous leadership?