Sacred Value of Water
Water is lifeblood.
This phrase was repeated time and time again during the LCIPP Knowledge Holders sessions at COP28 by Indigenous representatives from seven different sections of the world. Ali from Northern Kenya spoke about water being a sacred resource and central to his tribe’s belief system. For the Pacific region, the speakers all spoke about water transcending physical reliance for each of their groups - water is not only their ancestral connection but also immortalizes their stories. For northern regions stretching from the Inuit people in Canada and Greenland to the Saami of Norway, they spoke about water as a life force that sustains all beings, making us all interconnected, making us all relatives.
International Indigenous Peoples gather after Water Ceremony at COP28 in Dubai, December 2023.
Why is it that Indigenous groups around the world recognize the sacred value of water above its colonial monetary value? It’s because we see the world as it is - a living, breathing being through which we all have life. Before Western civilization even began, we recognized that water is a foundational element of our survival and must be respected, honored, and protected. Putting a price tag on water, and using it without consideration, has put a strain on the world's freshwater reserves. Colonialism and its capitalistic constructions have now endangered this sacred resource and the only way to reverse the damage is to listen to Indigenous People.
Since time immemorial, Indigenous groups have relied on water not only for practical uses such as transport and food but also for our spiritual health in our ceremonies and belief systems. However, since colonizers began to spread industrial ideals, these practices have been disrupted, eroded, and some entirely eradicated. Climate change as a direct result of colonization only speeds up this process, causing the temperature of our planet to spike and sucking freshwater reserves dry. Not only has this damaged Indigenous community's access to resources but it’s created water insecurity for the very people meant to steward this lifeblood.
Water Insecurity Violates Human Rights
In my own community, East Prairie Métis Settlement in northern Alberta, we experience water insecurity. The drinking water isn’t safe to drink so we often boil and buy our water for all uses. Growing up there would be times when we’d have to take the snow from outside and boil it for drinking and cooking water because we couldn’t afford bottled water and the water treatment plant was having problems. Early on, I recognized just how precarious it can get when you don’t have access to clean drinking water. But what about water’s other uses - namely in hunting and transportation practices?
The Inuit people live in the northern sectors of the world and thus are uniquely situated at the forefront of climate change. Lisa, Jennifer, and Ruth all hail from the Inuit in Canada, and all spoke about witnessing the rapid changes in the environment, indicative of coming global changes. What happens in the north, will happen to the rest of the world. The Arctic is fundamental to global climate stability and basically acts as a mirror, reflecting global changes to come. The Inuit peoples have seen both the water patterns change and the animal routes change. The animals follow the water, so what happens when freshwater reserves disappear? To add more fuel to the fire, the rural communities of the north that rely on ice roads in the winter for food and water delivery are now experiencing shorter and shorter windows of time where it's safe for the trucks to deliver necessities.
If reading about the changes in the Arctic isn’t enough for you to be concerned, then we can look at a recent tragedy that struck Hawai‵i this past summer - and how it's connected to disrupted waterways. On August 8, 2023 on the island of Maui, a brushfire quickly got out of control and devastated the nearby town of Lahaina, taking 101 souls with it. People were trapped in town as high wind speeds and downed electrical poles paired with a drought exasperated these conditions. However, there’s also another factor that directly contributed to the severity of the fire - the water table. The Kānaka Maoli have warned about the diverted waterways and irrigation system for generations after plantations and industrial infrastructure began to take up space on the islands. The privatization of land also contributes to this water dispute and to this day Kānaka Maoli is fighting for water rights not only for the people but for the land.
Indigenous Rights Are The Solution
Disasters like Maui, where water becomes scarce and our industrialized water systems collapse because of drought conditions, will only become more common as the climate warms. So, how do we combat this threat? By listening to Indigenous people and putting Indigenous Rights, which are also land rights, at the forefront of climate change mitigation strategies. Indigenous people know how to steward the land, and understand reciprocity on an intrinsic level; humanity’s relationship with Earth Mother has been unbalanced for too long. However, that’s not to say that Indigenous groups aren’t already working on tipping the scales back.
Projects led by Indigenous folk defending water rights have been around for decades. In Guam, there are efforts to dig up sinkholes that have been covered by modern infrastructure to access and restore freshwater reserves. They have also been working on desalination plants and cleaning polluted water. In South America, land defenders are actively fighting against industry poisoning the Amazon River. In Kenya, they are utilizing harvesting technology for water to help the people in the wet and dry seasons which have become unpredictable thanks to Climate Change. Indigenous groups aren’t asking for permission to restore the world’s water balance, instead, we are asking for support for the projects and land defenders already doing the work.
World Water Day
Today, March 22nd is World Water Day and to properly honor the day, we must also honor those on the frontline of water and land defense. We’d like to highlight the efforts of Indigenous groups in so-called Canada who are actively fighting for water rights and against further water pollution due to industry.
Alberta Tar Sands Tailings Action at COP28.
The Algonquin resistance has been tirelessly fighting against the Nuclearization of Unceded Land where there are plans to build a Near-Surface Disposal Facility a mere 1.1km from the Kichi Sìbì, the Ottawa River, that provides clean drinking water to over a million residents of Ottawa. In Alberta, there is an ongoing turmoil between local Indigenous communities and the nearby oil and gas mines, where this past spring it was revealed that Imperial Oil’s tailings pond had been continuously leaking into the nearby water supply for nine months, endangering the nearby communities of Fort Chippewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nation. What’s worse is that Imperial Oil was aware of the leak and failed to notify the communities. And of course, we’d like to highlight the ongoing work of the Wet’suwet’en land defenders who are at the forefront of the fight against oil and gas industry expansion onto Indigenous and unceded lands in so-called B.C. They are fervently protecting their clean rivers and thus, protecting the communities that rely on that water for food and clean drinking water.
Indigenous People understand on a very intrinsic level that we cannot survive without our Earth Mother - and the continued exploitation of her resources, and the poisoning of the water cannot continue if we have any hope of mitigating climate change. Without our land defenders, our waterways and lands would have been poisoned and exploited to no return. Land defense is a climate solution.
About the Author
Britney Supernault (she/they), known as the Cree Nomad, is Otipemisiwak Nehiyaw (Métis Cree) from East Prairie Metis Settlement. An artist, activist, and writer, Britney has spent the last 4 years writing on various topics, from traveling and productivity to contemporary Indigenous Issues and Climate Change. They write full-time and also has a social media platform where they share their life as a writer. Britney is currently working on their debut novel, soon to be released, and an Indigenous graphic novel series.