A Poison Stronger than Love: The Destruction of an Ojibwa Community

by Anastasia M. Shkilnyk

“I can’t explain it to you, because I can’t explain it to myself. The only thing I know is that alcohol is a stronger power than the love of children. It’s a poison, and we are a broken people. We suffer enough inside, and therefore we understand each other.”—Resident of Grassy Narrows

"A work of luminous compassion and rigorous analysis. . . . Should be required reading . . . for anyone interested in the bonds of community that make people human." —M.T.  Kelly, Toronto Globe and Mail

Grassy Narrows is a small Ojibwa village in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It first captured national attention in 1970, when mercury pollution was discovered in the adjacent English-Wabigoon River. In the course of the assessment of environmental damage, an even more compelling tragedy came to light. For in little more than a decade, the Indian people had begun to self-destruct.

This powerful book documents the human costs of massive and extraordinarily rapid change in a people’s way of life. When well-intentioned bureaucrats relocated the Grassy Narrows band to a new reserve in 1963, the results were the unraveling of the tribe’s social fabric and a sharp deterioration in their personal morale – dramatically reflected in Shkilnyk’s statistics on violent death, illness, and family breakdown. The book explores the origins and causes of the suffering in the community life and describes the devastating impacts of mercury contamination on the health and livelihood of the Indian people.

In essence, this is an in-depth and comprehensive study of the forces and pressures that can rend a community apart. As such it is of interest not only to those particularly concerned with the fate of aboriginal peoples on the continent but also to those more broadly concerned with human collective response to unprecedented stress. 

Genres: Ethnography, Anthropology, Nonfiction, History, Social Science, Canada

276 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 1985

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is horrifying - homicide, child abuse of all kinds, suicide, sexual assault, gangs, alcoholism, and drug addiction were endemic in this community at the time of its publication (1984). I recently read a memoir by a woman who visited El Salvador in the 1980s - what she describes there is Edenic by comparison with the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though Shkilnyk's degrees were not in anthropology, I consider this one of the finest and most important works in anthropology -- the research and analytical approaches fit well there -- and it's foundational in anthropological environmental work. It's one of the most depressing books I've ever read, but should still be widely read by anyone interested in First Nations peoples and environmental justice. [added] I have heard more recently that some members of the community do not like this book because it paints a fairly negative picture, but at the time I remember hearing it was pretty well received. Perceptions can change over time, of course, and there always are multiple perspectives, but I still feel it stands up for its portrayal of a community under severe environmental stress.

[Karen Orlandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing book which is both an academic tome, and story of a community. Shkilnyk gives all the background to the abuse of the Grassy Narrows First Nations Community before the mercury poisoning and into that era. It was enlightening, and clear, and extremely readable. I read the last half while I was in Grassy, and it helped me understand it so much better.

[Sara Janay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vital contribution to the field of anthropology. This story will rip you to shreds with its use of ethnographic story telling. The photographs that accompany the text are chilling and tell a story of generational trauma resulting from the upheaval of their ancestral lands and disconnection from their culture. A sad story yet important to realize this story occurs in so many places across the world.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really difficult and necessary read.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating and eye-opening

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book.

Will write more later.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

gut wrenching

[Judy Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually part of our reading requirements for a class in social psychology. I've never forgotten it, it made a huge impression om me.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overwhelming. Nightmarish. Describes the way the Grassy Narrows Ojibway community fell apart under the many destructive influences eating at the families and individuals living on the reserve.

[Janeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alcohol and sniffing and the Grassy Narrow Ojibwa