In September, journalist Brandi Morin and cinematographer Geordie Day spent several days in the Fort Chipewyan area, reporting on the enduring impact of oil sands extraction on local Indigenous communities for IndigiNews, The Real News Network and Ricochet. They met with ACFN Chief Allan Adam and other community members and Elders, and spoke with experts like toxicologist Mandy Olsgard and Dr. John O'Connor. It’s one of several reporting trips Morin has made to the area over the past year, covering a story that may soon wind up in court, and in national headlines. This article, and accompanying feature documentary, are co-published by all three outlets.

While trawling his boat further down the river, Castor points to odd-looking clusters resembling dirty foam floating by.

“There’s just a slurry of a foam that looks like oil or some kind of chemical in there,” says Castor, a 42-year-old father, construction business owner and member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN).

He’s been a traditional hunter, trapper and fisherman for nearly 20 years and has documented strange changes in the water, the land and animals.

Something’s going on in the river, he says.

“They say that it’s natural, well, I know that that’s not natural because I’ve been on the river my whole life,” he explains as he points to brown and white foam, oil sheens and other discoloured formations floating on the river.