On this episode of Dignity and Joy, land and water defender and health activist Judy Da Silva joins host Sheldomar Elliott to discuss the wins she has seen her community achieve in protecting their home of Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation territory (also known as Grassy Narrows First Nation) and the many threats they continue to face.

Judy and the people of Grassy Narrows were thrust into a lifetime of advocacy when Dryden Chemicals Ltd. dumped waste into the surrounding English-Wabigoon river system, creating a decades-old mercury crisis. Herself a survivor of mercury poisoning, Judy describes how hard the community has had to fight for government accountability and support, all the while facing continued logging and mining infringements on their land.

A respected elder, the soft-spoken but lionhearted Judy joined the conversation from a small wooden cabin on the frontlines of the Highway 671 blockade, the longest in Ontario’s history. She describes how preventing 20 years worth of industrial encroachment has restored some of the local ecosystem, offering a more peaceful place for people and animals alike.

It’s both a heartening reminder of the power of collective resistance and a call to action for every one of us listening to keep up the fight for land back, in Grassy Narrows and beyond.