Indigenous leaders in Alberta, Canada, have been asking for funding to better understand if pollution from the oilsands was making their people sick.

Now, the Canadian government is providing 12 million dollars for a study to do just that, according to CBC News.

"This should have been done 32 years ago, maybe 40 years ago. We know that there is something going on in this community. We can't pinpoint it or anything in regards to what's actually going on," said Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro.

Studies have previously shown higher rates of cancer in the communities along the shores of Lake Athabasca.