Janelle Nahmabin may have big shoes to fill, but she’s up for the challenge.
The Aamjiwnaang First Nation councillor has taken on the role as acting chair, in the absence of longtime chief Chris Plain, who stepped down earlier this month to fulfill his new role as Deputy Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation.
“We are super excited for his next level of leadership, because, there’s 39 nations under that, which is really amazing,” said Nahmabin, who was appointed acting chair at the regular band council meeting on June 17. “So, I spoke with my family, my support people, to make sure that I had everything in place so that I could fulfill those duties with the help of council and our awesome staff.”
Nahmabin served on council from 2018 to 2020, and again from 2022 to present day; she chaired the environment committee for a number of years, and will fill the role as acting chair until the next election in the fall.
Recently, she was in Ottawa representing Aamjiwnaang at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) global plastics treaty talks. While there, she spoke at a number of meetings and press conferences highlighting the disproportionate impacts of plastics pollution on frontline Indigenous communities.
Aamjiwnaang First Nation remains under a state of emergency, declared by Chief Plain on April 25, due to the “ongoing and excessive discharge of the chemical compound benzene” from the nearby INEOS Styrolution facility, officials said at the time.
The Sarnia site has since announced its permanent closure.
“We still need that leadership to help guide us through… and fulfill the big shoes left behind from Chris,” Nahmabin told The Journal this week. “Continuing our advocacy, our environmental stewardship, our strategic plan, working on relationships with industry… and still trying to conduct the business of the band.
“I am just excited to be able to work more closely with our staff and continue on with business as normal here.”
As for what’s next, Nahmabin said she’s looking forward to staying involved in whatever capacity she can.
“I honestly believe that, it would be wonderful if our community members all had an opportunity to be part of council at some point within their life,” she said. “So that everybody knows what it’s like to work for the people, because we all have different voices and contribute to the betterment of our nation.
“Our council are such good people,” she continued. “We all offer great insight and we’re really helpful for one another…I will continue working for my community, whether that is in the role I am in now, or if it’s on council or on committee, or if it’s at the grassroots level — that’s always been a part of who I am.”