Shell Canada returns much-needed land to Aamjiwnaang First Nation – Sarnia and Lambton County This Week

October 4, 2019

A blossoming partnership between Aamjiwnaang and Shell’s Sarnia Refinery has members of the local First Nation ecstatic over the possibility of housing projects that could help return indigenous people to the land south of the border city.

That partnership culminated in a 28-hectare land transfer Oct. 3, more than 90 years after the field was taken from the First Nation and integrated into Sarnia’s Chemical Valley. Shell bought the field located northeast of its Sarnia refinery in 1963, annually leasing the 28-hectare plot to farmers in anticipation the land could one day be developed for its needs.

Those needs never emerged, unlike those in the nearby Aamjiwnaang First Nation, where Chief Chris Plain said land is in short supply compared to Aamjiwnaang’s population. For them, the plot of land — returned after years of back-and-forth between Aamjiwnaang leaders and Shell Canada — opens the door to servicing and development with little detriment to the environment.

Read More: https://www.sarniathisweek.com/news/local-news/shell-canada-returns-much-needed-land-to-aamjiwnaang-first-nation-2