Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty
Abstract
:1. Introduction
Reforming Water Governance from and within Indigenous Communities
2. Researcher Positionality
3. Theoretical Frameworks and Methodology
3.1. Methods
3.2. Data Analysis Processes
4. Results—Water Challenges and Land-Based Solutions
4.1. Water Crisis and Destruction of Indigenous-Gendered Governance Structures
I really think our People, especially the women, have to take the lead in Water decision-making because the women have a lot to do with Mother Earth. The women are the ones who more or less take care of Mother Earth and Water. More women should come to the understanding that this is very important in our livelihood. And not only that but having a connection to the Land helps us to secure our children and unborn generations. In that line of thinking. Also, there are different rights that women carry in order to look after the Land. They come with gifts that help our community so that we can continue to live a good life and walk a good life. That is why I feel that more People in our community, especially our women, should start understanding and having that awareness to make things right (Co-researcher 2, Indigenous Woman Elder).
co-researcher 2 spoke about women taking the lead; it will still not make a difference because they no longer think of us as the life-givers. That is their way of thinking. Now, you are just one of the People; the ladies are not the leaders anymore. We try to care for our families and keep getting pushed down daily. How do we make a difference if we are constantly being pushed down the next step, or controlled? That is why our government is controlling us, and now we have to depend on them for everything. Because we are so used to it: even back then, we still did things for ourselves (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
We [women] are all supposed to be the caregivers, the life-givers that way, but they don’t care. Get back there where you belong with your peers. It is very hard when you are dealing with our government, that top man that is supposed to be higher up, but I don’t think he is higher up because the only one that is higher up is the creator, not some man. I get discouraged; I always think about this, and I get so mad. I always think we shouldn’t be told what to do. We should be given because we are here; the creator put us here. And Mother Earth, to look after our children and grand babies, all those that are important to us. We are to look after their nourishment, to make them grow up to be respectable children, and we expect the government to treat and give us all those things that we were always told by our great grandfather (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
4.2. Water Crisis and Health Implications
When we wash our vegetables, we use water. We have E. coli on the plants that we eat, salads, and even our fruits that are on top of them because they won’t wash them (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
In addition to the Water in the sloughs, is it going to cause cancer? For example, coming down here I realized there were chemicals being applied. We rent out our Lands to the farmers. All that is polluting our Water sources. We have pig farms on either side of our reserve. When they drain out their farms, it goes directly into our valley (Co-researcher 4, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper).
we need to understand what we can do to save whatever Water that we have: our sacred Water. So that we can save that and look at the causes and effects and damages. The Water left; how do we preserve that? We have local farmers pumping in all kinds of insecticides and all that. We don’t want that; we see it in our wildlife already. Our traditional foods are affected by that, and so is our health. Long ago, we didn’t have diabetes because we lived off the Land. We knew which wildlife we could eat that made our bodies healthy. And now, we are afraid to eat things that our bodies require (Co-researcher 7, Indigenous Woman Elder).
I don’t even know if we can go back to our ways a long time ago. When we used to drink our Water out of the sloughs and whatever. They are now contaminated by farms and pesticides. We don’t even know what kind of chemicals they are using to spray. We hear People say the fish has mercury in it; where did the mercury come from; you know? Even sewage was going into our Water (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
I can’t see a solution unless we all work together with the government and all the People that are so concerned about what is happening to Mother Earth. Now, I can see it is kind of a bit too late because I can see all the damage has already been done; how do we make it better if we keep adding more things to Mother Earth? Destroying her, destroying our Water, and killing our fish (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Even our Water treatment plant now wants the best, but we don’t get the best. We just get what is available and even with that, we have to beg for it. We have to beg for our money. Sometimes we don’t get it. The government says we have good drinking Water but we don’t. Maybe they do not use First Nations (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Give us good drinking Water; don’t give us something that is just gonna be there to shut us up: that is the way I look at it. We are getting a new Water treatment, oh right on: you have good Water but that is not all you still have; like (Co-researcher 3) said, she still has that habit of buying Water because we are so scared: you can’t drink tap Water. It is contaminated and all that (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Then again when we look back, how bad the government made us look. Like giving us drugs: we abused them the same as when they are giving us drinking Water; is it safe? Is it the same as drugs; is it safe? The same drinking Water is like taking the same drugs (Co-researcher 4, Indigenous Woman Elder).
You know, talking about how we lived back in the day. How we respected what was given to us, what Mother Earth had to nourish us like our Water, food, vegetables, and how we see things grow. We want that, we want to see it flourish and become abundant so that we can live that healthy lifestyle. But nowadays, because of the way our residential schools or days schools or whatever. How do we grow from that? Because we were taught when we were growing up to be good. But with the residential school, we learned how to be mean and disrespectful to each other. How our Language was bad, that it was the devil’s Language they used to say. When you talk about our natural resources like our Water and how we live here, they try to take that away and say that is not the way we should live. We should live the way they wanted us to live. Some of us have come to the realization that we can’t live the life I was told to live. I have to go back to live in a humble way, respectable Wahkohtowin. All those things that our teachings were made of. When you are talking about clean drinking Water, we want clean drinking Water, we want to clean Mother Earth. We don’t want her destroyed by man-made things. Because that is how we destroy our own livelihood (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Again, we observed that Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination were critical to returning the community’s drinking Water to safer levels. Reconnecting Indigenous Peoples with their culture, including Language, and relationship to Land and Water, is crucial to maintaining sovereignty and self-determination. We cannot continue to impose Water governance on Indigenous communities without recognizing their Water epistemologies. As nations, Indigenous communities have continuously advocated for Indigenous-led Water governance to be upheld. These would allow Indigenous People to have jurisdiction over their Water. This can enhance their sovereignty and self-determination. Indigenous communities know that the current Water regimes cannot advance their sovereignty and self-determination. Acknowledging the challenges with current Water governance regimes within the community, an Elder concluded.
We can no longer go back to those old days when you can just walk up to a slough and get a pail of clean drinking Water and take it home so others can drink from it (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
I don’t know, I don’t remember, and we are so caught up and our minds get tired: our brains get tired of thinking so much of the good things and the bad things that we don’t care anymore. Like we don’t care what kind of Water we are drinking. Some of us do but other ones say we don’t care. Is there something that is given to us? What have they given to us? We don’t know whether it is safe. It is like a can of pop and Water and I think someone will take pop because it is sweet. But for the body, I will take the Water. They give us what they want to give us. To keep us quiet. Our Water treatment plant, we will upgrade the Water treatment plant so you can have good drinking Water. Because this and that goes into the Water and we drink it. We don’t know how much chlorine is in there, how much whatever they put in there. Anyway, let’s get your Water cleaned, but if your Water comes out smelling or discoloured, like Co-researcher 3 said. Be satisfied we gave you that, the government again, take it or leave it (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
4.3. Solutions through Respect for Water
You know when a baby is born, it is pure: that was how our Water was. When you think about that and you look back on our childhood, wherever there was Water you drank it. You just used your hand to drink the Water. Now, we can’t even do that. That Water tasted so good than what we have now. You know when you taste Water, you want to know where the Water comes from. We got accustomed to those tastes, it was always nice and cold. There was nothing in there, there was no grease stuff in the Water. Even our fish: where is our fish now? They are dead. What caused that? (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Even when we are drinking coffee, we have to look to see if there is something on top of it. Back in the day, we didn’t have to worry about these things. That is how we respected that Water (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
It must come with a ceremony; it has to come with Elders who are knowledgeable about the Water systems and where it comes from. We need to be able to come together and speak about the ways it was done long ago. Years ago. And bring that to the forefront. So that we can learn to use Water in a better way. Because we’re missing that point like Water just isn’t Water to us; it is a living entity. And there’s a spirit in that Water that gives us life. The things that we need in life for our bodies, for nourishment, and so we have to bring the whole issue to ceremony (Co-researcher 5, Indigenous Woman Elder).
4.4. Water Governance Implications for Sovereignty and Self-Determination
Now, I can see it is kind of a bit too late because I can see all the damage has already been done. How do we make it better if we keep adding more things to Mother Earth? Destroying her, destroying our Water, and killing our fish. The Water was so scarce a couple of years back there, even our food source: there was nothing there to survive. People are destroying Mother Earth with fires; all these add to when we take Mother Earth into our bodies that destroys everything. We have to look after Mother Earth. They are gonna do everything, non-First Nations People gonna destroy the Water (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
Water is sacred; we use those in ceremonies. We use those to nourish our bodies, to keep us surviving. You know we can fight the government; we can fight the big boss, but we are not gonna win because they are still gonna destroy us. Look at the food prices: that were predicted, that was prophesied by the old People. That food is gonna be gone and scarce. I can see it now. If you don’t see it, your children will see it, they used to say. That is why our old People used to say look after our Mother Earth. I remember we used to have enough Water to drink; we didn’t need to worry about what was in it. We got accustomed to it and, all of a sudden, you can’t drink that Water. It is very scary, and I don’t think it is gonna get any better. We were on a boiled Water advisory for years. We are still on it; we don’t even know if it is gonna go away. That is my story, and I am sticking to it (Co-researcher 1, Indigenous Woman Elder).
I was just telling my partner here about our research. We have a big lake on our reserve. There’s a tap that opens where the next community and their whole subdivision have access to our Star Blanket Water. Now, there was an agreement in place where the next community is supposed to give us payment regarding using our Water. I think that agreement is being followed, but on a more cultural or traditional side. Water is for everyone and so we’re kind of stuck in between. How do we conserve the Water that’s ours and share it with other people who need it just as much as we do. So, we’re caught up in that whole area. You know that Water doesn’t really belong to us but the creator, it belongs to everybody who needs to use it. So, you know, we get caught up in the whole policy thing. We can’t really put a government policy into the Water. That’s natural and it’s a natural resource for all human beings, all plant life, all animal life, and so it’s very hard to put that into policy when you have this belief system (Co-researcher 5, Indigenous Woman Elder).
5. Discussion and Relational Learning Reflections
5.1. Indigenous Water Epistemologies’ Implications for Sovereignty and Self-Determination
5.2. Reclaiming Gendered Indigenous Governance Structures
5.3. Rebuilding Trust in Water Governance through Indigenous Sovereignty
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Hurlbert, M.; Acharibasam, J.B.; Datta, R.; Strongarm, S.; Starblanket, E. Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty. Water 2024, 16, 748. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050748
Hurlbert M, Acharibasam JB, Datta R, Strongarm S, Starblanket E. Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty. Water. 2024; 16(5):748. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050748
Chicago/Turabian StyleHurlbert, Margot, John Bosco Acharibasam, Ranjan Datta, Sharon Strongarm, and Ethel Starblanket. 2024. "Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty" Water 16, no. 5: 748. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050748