‘If I started a tourism business, I would show people there’s so much more’
> HAILEY LOON, 17
My mom never ate fish when she was
pregnant with me. I grew up mostly with my grandparents, and fish was a regular part of my diet.
But I don’t have any mercury symptoms. I’m lucky. It’s hard watching other people suffer from the symptoms.
There’s a lot more going on here than mercury problems though. I met a friend once from Ignace, Ont., and he was doing a school project on Grassy Narrows. He told me that all he could find online was mercury reports and news articles about it.
I had to tell him it’s not all about mercury; not everyone is affected by it. He just said, “Wow.” I told him my story and how I’m not really poisoned by the mercury.
This is my story: I play sports, walk around in the bush and hang out at home with my mom and we bead together. I play Scrabble at my kookum’s (grandmother’s) and we talk about life.
Last year, I joined a program called Outside Looking In (OLI) because I needed a high school credit. OLI brings dance education to Indigenous youth and their communities.
Rehearsals were tough, but I’m really glad I stayed because it was a new experience for me. I met a lot of people and it was amazing.
I never thought I could dance until OLI came here. But I motivated myself to learn and try hard. We went to Toronto in May and danced onstage in front of like 2,000 people. I feel really proud of myself and I know I inspired kids because they came up to me after I got back and asked me how my experience was, and how it was at camp, and how it felt.
I’ll probably do it again this year. If there’s one thing I would want people to know about Grassy Narrows, it’s that Grassy Narrows is a beautiful place with beautiful scenery. If I had to start up a tourism business, I would show people that there’s so much more.