grass-ee nar-rows | Grassy Narrows First Nation
Community Profile
- The Grassy Narrows First Nation, also known as Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek, is an Ojibwe First Nation community situated near Kenora, Ontario, known for their long-standing environmental and health justice struggles.
- Last Updated 2025-05-12 19:21:05 UTC
- Name: Grassy Narrows First Nation (ISC Code: 149)
- Former Names: Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation
- Band Style: First Nation
- Cultural Area: Boreal Forest, Northwestern Ontario
- Indigenous Language: Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe)
- Number of Registered Members: 1625
Governance
Band Council
- GOVERNANCE TYPE: Not Applicable
- TERM EXPIRES: 10/22/2026
- CHIEF: RUDY TURTLE
- NUMBER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS:8
- RUDY TURTLE
- SHERRY STARR ACKABEE
- LITTLE BEAR COPENACE
- JOHN CLINT KOKOPENACE
- AARON LANCE KOKOPENACE
- ARNOLD ELTON PAHPASAY
- JOSEPH CECIL DEVLIN
- SHERRY STARR ACKABEE
Contact Information
- BAND WEBSITE: http://firstnation.ca/grassy-narrows
- PHONE NUMBER: (807) 925-2201
- FAX NUMBER: (807) 925-2649
- ADDRESS: GENERAL DELIVERY, GRASSY NARROWS, ON
- EMAILS:
- Chief RUDY TURTLE:
- Chief SHERRY STARR ACKABEE:
- Councillor LITTLE BEAR COPENACE:
- Councillor JOHN CLINT KOKOPENACE:
- Councillor AARON LANCE KOKOPENACE:
- Councillor ARNOLD ELTON PAHPASAY:
- Councillor JOSEPH CECIL DEVLIN:
- Councillor SHERRY STARR ACKABEE:
- General Band Office:
- Media Contact:
- Referrals Contact:
- Websites
Band Financial Statements
- 2023 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2022 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2021 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2020 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2019 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2018 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2017 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2016 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2015 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2014 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2013 - Audited consolidated financial statements
- 2012 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20122013.pdf
- 2011 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20112012.pdf
- 2010 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20102011.pdf
- 2009 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20092010.pdf
- 2008 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20082009.pdf
- 2007 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20072008.pdf
- 2006 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20062007.pdf
- 2005 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20052006.pdf
- 2004 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20042005.pdf
- 2003 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20032004.pdf
- 2002 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20022003.pdf
- 2001 - Grassy Narrows First Nation20012002.pdf
Band Council Remuneration
- 2023 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2022 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2021 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2020 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2019 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2018 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2017 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2016 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2015 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2014 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
- 2013 - Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses
Laws, Bylaws, and Codes
Intergovernmental Agreements
Lands and Traditional Territory
Reserves
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ISC Code: 6267
ENGLISH RIVER 21
4145.0 Hectares
40 KM NE/NE OF/DE KENORA
[50.1594907, -94.03988540000002]
- Located in the traditional lands of the Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabek
- Territory encompasses parts of Northwestern Ontario near Kenora
- Traditional lands include boreal forest regions, river systems, and lake areas
- Historically used for hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering
Consultations and Referrals
Band Submissions
Consultation Reports
Band Business Interests
Band Owned Corporations
Court Records
Downloadable Court Decisions
Active Court Cases
Media Reports
Media Reports
- The Grassy Narrows First Nation sues over decades of mercury contamination
- Grassy Narrows First Nation taking extra measures against human trafficking
- Canada First Nation appeals mercury contamination case to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- The poisoning of Grassy Narrows
- Thousands rally at Queen's Park to demand action on mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Indigenous Activists March for a Cleaner Grassy Narrows
- First Nations and allies resist proposed radioactive waste repository
- ‘We want the mill to shut down,’ Grassy Narrows First Nation to Ontario
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues Ontario, Canada over mercury contamination
- Environmental racism underlies Grassy Narrows’ mercury and suicide crises
- Ontario First Nation seeks mining claims ban, for now at least
- Caravan from Grassy Narrows First Nation makes stops to educate about mercury poisoning ahead of Toronto rally
- Grassy Narrows First Nation files lawsuit against Ontario, federal governments over mercury contamination
- Students rally against mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Grassy Narrows on the cusp of a housing boom
- ‘For them, it’s money. For us, it’s life’: Grassy Narrows’ 60-year legacy of poison
- Grassy Narrows proves environmental racism is not over
- Grassy Narrows First Nation appeals to international human rights commission over mercury contamination
- 6 First Nations challenge Ontario's Mining Act, a month after similar legal action by Grassy Narrows
- River Run 2024: Walk with Grassy Narrows for Mercury Justice
- Grassy Narrows First Nation rally to warn about mercury poisoning | Canada Tonight
- The youth activists taking on one of Canada’s worst health crises
- First Nation court action against Ontario could invalidate all mining claims in the province
- Grassy Narrows’ River Run 2024: A Recap of the Fight for Justice
- ‘Cry out for justice’: Mercury poisoning provokes lawsuit
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues Ontario, federal governments over mercury poisoning
- Grassy Narrows First Nation and the decades-long issue of mercury contamination
- Grassy Narrows First Nation taking Ontario to court over Mining Act, lack of consultation on land claims
- Grassy Narrows First Nation to launch legal action against Ontario to mandate consultation on mining claims
- Grassy Narrows launches legal battle against Ontario’s Mining Act
- Mercury poisoning near Grassy Narrows First Nation worsened by industrial pollution, study suggests
- Sign up now for Grassy Narrows River Run 2024 – Sept. 18
- Thousands march in Toronto to demand justice for Grassy Narrows
- Grassy Narrows chief calls out Ottawa for 'ridiculous' delays to mercury treatment centre construction
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues governments over mercury contamination
- Grassy Narrows River Run 2024
- ‘My Ears Keep Ringing All the Time’: Mercury Poisoning Among Grassy Narrows First Nation
- The growing movement of Indigenous leaders across Northern Ontario opposing nuclear waste dump
- Paper mill wastewater increasing mercury contamination near Grassy Narrows First Nation, study suggests
- Mercury pollution is worsening a mental health crisis in this Indigenous community
- Ontario mining law 'outdated, unconstitutional and offensive': First Nation chief
- Mercury exposure and premature mortality in the Grassy Narrows First Nation community: a retrospective longitudinal study
- Grassy Narrows chief announces candidacy for Ontario regional chief
- No home. No options: Ontario Indigenous kids ‘damaged’ by system sending them south
- Climate action and policy must be Indigenous-led, youth leaders say in new report
- Grassy Narrows launches legal action on Mining Act
- Ontario will never live down the shame of Grassy Narrows
- Ford asks education ministry to probe TDSB field trip to protest
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues Ontario, Canada over mercury contamination
- How Grassy Narrows is fighting to keep its kids out of the child-welfare system
- Grassy Narrows launches a legal battle against Ontario
- Baranyai: Let's hope justice system doesn't fail Grassy Narrows too
- 20 Years of Resistance: Grassy Narrows' Land Defenders
- UN expert finds 'flagrant breaches' of First Nations rights to clean water
- Opinion: Anti-Israel protesters hijacked Indigenous suffering to promote hate
- Opinion: Why are TDSB students being sent to rallies in the first place?
- Grassy Narrows sues Ontario, seeking to nullify all mining claims
- Mill pollution exacerbates mercury contamination in river near Grassy Narrows: study
- Grassy Narrows First Nation takes Ontario to court over mining claims
- Opposition grows against federal cuts for searches of unmarked graves
- Why a new Grade 11 English course is ditching Shakespeare | Things To Do
- First Nations oppose potential arrival of nuclear waste
- Children of the poisoned river
- Canada: UN Special Rapporteur’s visit must shift ‘glacial progress’ on Indigenous rights
- Dance production takes on difficult subject of the mercury poisoning of a First Nation
- The Warrior Society rises: how a mercury spill in Canada inspired a movement
- Grassy Narrows chief wants to be regional chief
- Research links river poisoned by paper mill to First Nations youth suicide attempts
- First Nations leaders continue to oppose Ontario nuclear waste burial projects
- Toronto schoolchildren taken to protest on grounds it was an Indigenous-themed field trip
- Terry Newman: Toronto school board should know that field trips are not for indoctrination
- 'Significant' number of possible grave sites identified at McIntosh Indian Residential School
- Kenora's new Indigenous relations adviser aims to build bridges between municipality and First Nations
- Conservatives stall Indigenous clean water law, minister says
- Make it Safe: Canada’s Obligation to End the First Nations Water Crisis
- Environmental racism underlies Grassy Narrows’ mercury and suicide crises
- Liberals pledge $9B in new money for Indigenous communities in 2024 budget
- Mercury Poisoning Five Decades Later for Grassy Narrows and White Dog First Nations
- New centre in the works to track Indigenous data on businesses, land and resources
- Canada, Ontario Need to Address Toxic Legacy
- Chief disappointed by funding cuts to residential school searches
- Mercury pollution makes mental health crisis in Ontario First Nation worse
- Nation to Nation: Sol Mamakwa, a broken hospital and retiring MP
- Possible unmarked burials found at former residential school in northwestern Ontario
- Ministry of Education launches probe into TDSB field trip that turned into protest
- Grassy Narrows chief wants to be Ontario regional chief
- Ontario First Nations want a year-long pause on mining claims. Will the Ford government listen?
- Northwestern Ontario First Nations Chiefs Unite Against Nuclear Waste Proposal
- Canada: Climate Crisis Toll on First Nations’ Food Supply
- Grassy Narrows chief questions federal commitment to mercury care home amid delays, soaring costs
- Toronto teachers’ union accuses Ford of diverting attention away from Grassy Narrows
- Ford government appoints reviewer to look into TDSB field trip that turned into protest
- First Nations 'take a stand together'
- Indigenous kids allegedly called ‘cash cows’ of Ontario’s child-welfare system
- Environmental racism bill on the verge of becoming law says Green Party leader
- Grassy Narrows’ fight for clean water is a struggle for environmental justice
- First Nations mull legal action, plan protests over Ontario's online mining claims system
- Decades later, Grassy Narrows First Nation waits for solution to mercury poisoning
- Grassy Narrows brings the battle over mining claims and the duty to consult to Ontario
- Grassy Narrows Land Declaration: Federal and provincial governments owe the First Nation a debt of justice
- ‘We have been met with a hard heart’: Frustrated at lack of progress, Grassy Narrows sues governments for failing to clean up mercury pollution
- I am the Chief of Grassy Narrows. Doug Ford’s silence in the face of our struggles is deafening
- Study shows ongoing pollution at Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Mercury exposure linked to high youth suicides in Canada First Nation
- Opinion | Proposed mining threatens Grassy Narrows First Nation’s long struggle for environmental justice
- Grassy Narrows looking for 'mercury justice compensation for the ongoing crisis' with online rally
- An Ontario mill contaminated a river with mercury. Years later, teens are paying the price
- Grassy Narrows: New report strongest evidence yet of mercury poisoning
- 'Home to Me' anthem by young people of Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Grassy Narrows First Nation asserts sovereignty to pass Anishinaabe law on alcohol use
- Grassy Narrows First Nation 'not victims,' says advocate
- Grassy Narrows First Nation looking at next options to protect land from mining activity in Ontario
- Grassy Narrows First Nation and federal government sign agreement to build on-reserve mercury care home
- 'We're in an emergency': Mercury exposure linked to high youth suicide attempt rate in Grassy Narrows First Nation
- 16 Groups Blast Ontario for Allowing Clear-Cutting on Grassy Narrows First Nation
- First Nations 'take a stand together'
- Why Grassy Narrows First Nation parents must fight to keep their kids at home
- Canada First Nations sue Ontario over Mining Act alleging treaty rights violations
- Sign up now for Grassy Narrows River Run 2024 – Sept. 18
- TDSB witch hunt makes a mockery of Truth and Reconciliation
- Ontario mining law ‘unconstitutional, offensive’: First Nation chief
- Grassy Narrows First Nation erects checkpoint against human trafficking
- Grassy Narrows First Nations erects checkpoints amidst attempted abductions
- Consult before exploring: mineral tenure and Indigenous rights
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sets up community checkpoint due to human trafficking concerns
- Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict issues statement on potential discovery of unmarked graves near Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation)
- Minister acknowledges frustration of Grassy Narrows First Nation following launch of lawsuit
- Fight for justice for Grassy Narrows continues with annual River Run
- ‘We’re not going away’: Thousands of protesters march with Grassy Narrows First Nation over ongoing mercury poisoning crisis
- The fight's not over, say anti-nuclear First Nations
- ‘A bit of anger, a bit of sadness’: First Nations in Northwest Ontario don’t want Canada’s nuclear waste but will be getting it anyway (probably)
- Ontario mining law 'outdated, unconstitutional and offensive': First Nation chief
- Hundreds march in support of Grassy Narrows
- Grassy Narrows First Nation Youth Sing Strong, Stand Tall in Music Video ‘Feels Like Home’
- Feds reverse funding cuts to residential school searches
- Toronto teachers’ union accuses Ford of diverting attention away from Grassy Narrows as province begins investigating controversial field trip
- Grassy Narrows First Nation demands action after mercury dump site revelation
- Canada First Nations protest Ontario's 'Ring of Fire' mining plans
- ‘Stick to teaching’: Ford slams TDSB over field trip policy, accuses teachers of ‘indoctrinating kids’
- Request for Proposals: Facilitator, First Nations Virtual Forum on Community Safety
- Grassy Narrows funding pact for mercury-poisoning care home spurs joy and bitter memories
- First Nations dissatisfied with Treaty Three Police
- Canada’s environmental racism law needs to be stronger
- New research explores impact of Ring of Fire mining on First Nations in northern Ontario
- Japan mercury poisoning survivors boost First Nation’s compensation push
- 'Do the right thing': Grassy Narrows First Nation demands action on mercury pollution ahead of Ontario vote
- For Monday: Half a century of resistance: Inside Grassy Narrows’ toxic relationship with mercury pollution
- In election’s final days, Ontario’s Indigenous Affairs Minister is nowhere to be seen
- Chief Rudy Turtle of Grassy Narrows First Nation enters race for Ontario Regional Chief
- Characterizing visual field loss from past mercury exposure in an Indigenous riverine community (Grassy Narrows First Nation, Canada): a cluster-based approach
- Mercury Justice for Grassy Narrows
- After 'burial features' detected on McIntosh residential school grounds, researchers help families get closure
- TDSB reviewing field trip policy after students attend protest
- Mercury exposure linked to First Nation’s high suicide attempts
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sees start of mercury treatment facility — decades after river was poisoned
- After decades of fighting, mercury care home 'finally' becoming reality in Grassy Narrows
- Grassy Narrows breaks ground on new mercury poisoning wellness centre
- Grassy Narrows begins construction of mercury care home
- Construction to start on long-awaited mercury care home in Grassy Narrows
- NWO Indigenous opposition to nuclear waste storage site highlighted in report
- With a lawsuit filed, the province debates poisoning of Grassy Narrows
- Toronto school board and Ontario education ministry to investigate how students ended up at a political rally featuring pro-Palestine slogans
- Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations election set for Thursday
- Highlights from the Indigenous Circle’s 3rd Water Summit
- Grassy Narrows grassroots hold rally in Kenora
- Ontario mining law ’outdated, unconstitutional and offensive’: First Nation chief
- Mercury exposure and premature mortality in the Grassy Narrows First Nation community: a retrospective longitudinal study
- Toronto teachers’ union accuses Ford of diverting attention away from Grassy Narrows as province begins investigating controversial field trip
- Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict issues statement on potential discovery of unmarked graves near Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation)
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues Ontario, Canada over mercury contamination
- Indigenous Services Minister on future mercury care home and Jordan’s Principle
- Feds reverse funding cuts to residential school searches
- Half a century of resistance: Inside Grassy Narrows’ toxic relationship with mercury pollution
- Grassy Narrows First Nation Granted Leave to Appeal Ontario Water-Taking Permit for Great Bear Gold Project
- After years of waiting, Grassy Narrows breaks ground on a care home to treat victims of mercury poisoning
- Ontario First Nation seeks mining claims ban for now, and more consultation
- Grassy Narrows First Nation sues Ontario, Canada over mercury contamination
- Toxic chemical levels prompt partial evacuation of Aamjiwnaang First Nation
- Grassy Narrows marks 20 years of the blockade protecting its land from logging
- ‘Mercury justice’ comes to Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Indigenous Legal Matters
- Video: First Nations Women Bring Water Concerns to Geneva
- Mercury poisoning has devastated Grassy Narrows First Nation, new study shows
- Grassy Narrows demand MPs support First Nations’ rejection of nuclear waste projects
- Ontario mining law 'outdated, unconstitutional and offensive': First Nation chief
- Anicinabe Park occupation remembered after 50 years
- Grassy Narrows First Nation gets mercury poisoning treatment centre
- Grassy Narrows sues Ontario, seeks to nullify all mining claims
- A new law aims to crack down on environmental racism in Canada
Academic Research
Academic Research
- Mercury exposure and premature mortality in the Grassy Narrows First Nation community: a retrospective longitudinal study
- … across three generations of mercury exposure to attempted suicide among children and youth in Grassy Narrows First Nation, Canada: an intergenerational analysis
- Grassy Narrows blockade: Reworking relationships between Anishnabe and non-Indigenous activists at the grassroots
- Stepping into Canada's Shoes: Tsilhqot'in, Grassy Narrows and the Division of Powers
- What Changes Did Grassy Narrows First Nation Make to Federalism and Other Doctrines
- Mercury poisoning in grassy narrows: Environmental injustice, colonialism, and capitalist expansion in Canada
- Characterizing visual field loss from past mercury exposure in an Indigenous riverine community (Grassy Narrows First Nation, Canada): a cluster-based approach
- … : Confronting environmental contamination in the traditional territories of Asubpeechoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows) and Wabauskang First Nation
- Casenote: Grassy Narrows First Nation v Ontario (Natural Resources)
- Towards Reconciliation: The White Saviour Trope in Canadian Newspaper coverage of Grassy Narrows First Nation between 1977 and 2019
- Mercury concentrations in historic autopsies from Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Mercury concentrations in historic autopsies from Grassy Narrows First Nation
- Casenote: Grassy Narrows First v Ontario (Natural Resources)
- Mercury poisoning in grassy narrows: environmental injustice, colonialism, and capitalist expansion in Canada
- Grassy narrows reserve: mercury pollution, social disruption, and natural resources: a question of autonomy
Expert Analysis