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Our Waters, Our Responsibility:
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- Introduction
- Spiritual Indigenous Perspective: “Nipiy – Water is Life”
- International Perspectives
- Trade Perspectives
- National Perspective: Legal Precedents
- National Environmental Perspectives
- Local Perspectives: The Dilemma of Dams
- Ways Forward
- Youth Perspective
As the first gathering of its kind in Canada, Our Waters, Our Responsibility: Indigenous Water Rights drew together leaders, elders, and decision-makers from First Nations and Aboriginal communities who have been at the forefront of actions related to waters in Aboriginal territories in Canada. Key representatives from civil society, environmental, and church organizations, as well as lawyers and government officials, were also invited to listen, learn, and participate.
The intention was that together these leaders would develop practical strategies at the local, national, and international levels to address Indigenous water rights issues related to five thematic areas:
- Water privatization and trade
- Health of people, planet, and all life
- Peoples’ rights to water – policy and regulation issues
- Life and livelihood issues
- Education.
The Forum emphasized a rights-based approach to waters in Aboriginal territories, building a framework for action based upon the recognition and implementation of Aboriginal title, rights, and treaties. It is hoped that the forum will feed into and connect with other national and international processes related to water, and result in a working network to sustain long-term actions.
A comprehensive Water Rights briefing paperi was prepared as a starting point by Ardith Walkem and Nicole Schabus and can be requested, (as will the final report), from chiller@national.anglican.ca or tmandricks@national.anglican.ca
The report of the consultation is not yet available. This article captures a few of the insights, comments and ideas generated during these intensive days. It relies on paraphrases of what the writer heard along with draft unedited notes from participant Joan Jack.
The Plenary heard from several presenters over the course of the four days, some of whom will be referenced here. There were also roundtables and reports of discussion groups on: People’s Rights and Regulations; Trade and Privatization; Life and Livelihood; Education; Issues and Strategies at Local/Regional, National, and International Levels.
| “The time of truth has come for us to consider, not
only what will become of the authority of Indigenous Peoples
regarding our water rights, but also the capacity required to
protect this life source into the future. This forum will consider;
traditional use of water, our spiritual ties to water, national
and international industrial development, and their impacts
on water in Indigenous communities. “How do we monitor the governments’ decisions, policies and distribution of water taken from Indigenous Peoples territories? What kind of Agreements can Indigenous Peoples negotiate in order to share this life source with the rest of humanity and still keep the balance of nature? How can we teach and advise humankind on the wisdom of renewing Mother Earth – what we claim as our responsibly. We will coordinate our beliefs, our practices and our use of water in this forum.” (Conference Moderator, Millie Poplar, Anglican Church, Old Crow, Yukon) |
1. Spiritual Indigenous Perspective:
“Nipiy – Water is Life”
From a presentation by Darlene Sanderson, Cree,
Simon Fraser University
We can’t talk about water without talking about water in
all of its forms - water on earth and in the sky.
In all of its forms water is beautiful.
From the teachings of the Elders we learn that:
Water is life; and Water is sacred; Water is the life breath of
the Creator.
Water is no ordinary element – water is power. Water is important to us emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. Water connects all living things. Understanding the meaning of water helps us to understand our interconnectedness.
Ceremonies and rituals are an important part of thanking the Creator for all of the elements, all of life. Most religious ceremonies involve water in some way, such as in baptism. Cultural practices and the creation stories are the vehicles to sustainability.
Water is essential for the beginning of life. Preserving our traditional medicines will benefit the health of all living things and to do this we need clean water. Traditional guardianship of the waters will ensure healthy glaciers, rivers, lakes and oceans, and benefit all humanity, not just First Nations.
Water is cleansing. Pollution of water must stop; polluted waters must be purified; and polluters must pay. Look after the poor.
Water is healing. Breastfeeding is the healthiest food and water for babies. It connects the child to the mother and protects the baby from illness. Women bear a special responsibility to protect water.
Water is connected to identity. From whose descending waters do you flow? What river do you come from? We do our work for the next seven generations. Persistence and creativity are needed to improve the crisis of water quality. Children need to be educated about traditional principles about water.
The protection of water is urgently needed. Alternatives to dams need to be found so that traditional lands and waterways are not submerged. Keep the falls moving, keeping the rivers clean and healthy. Protect the source, the ground water. Respect the local protocols – they have been developed over centuries and have proven to be sustainable.
Water is life. We are life. We are the water. We are the river of life.
| Statistics: Over half of Mother Earth’s lakes and rivers are polluted. Nearly ¼ of humanity still remains today without proper access to water. Today, 45% of sub-Saharan Africans lack access to clean safe water – about 300 million people. Every eight seconds a child dies from drinking contaminated water – 10,000 a day In many African countries, toxic water is used by 80% of the rural population. |
From the international partner Eleanor Bang-oa, representing Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines:
Our situation as Indigenous Peoples (IPs) is almost the same world over. My organization is collecting stories and data to create the discourse to reach consensus for common action in order to affect international processes. We refer to land including all the resources, and water which we consider sacred. Today’s aggressive economic liberalization has negatively affected all aspects of Indigenous Peoples’ life worldwide. People are being evicted from their territories. Now it is up to us to determine if our children will ever hear the river’s voice.
“International Recognition – Breaking Out of the
Domestic Box – Being an International Nation”
- from a presentation by Arthur Manuel, Sushwap
Nation, B.C., Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade (INET)
Canada does play a very active role in Indigenous issues. They present themselves as the nation state that should lead the way on Indigenous issues. I say that Canada is an underdeveloped nation because Canadians are at Level One in accordance with the Human Development Index (HDI); but when the same criteria is applied to IPs on reserves we are at level 47 or 63.
We are involved internationally because we can’t get justice here in Canada. People need to understand that the courts are only one half of justice; the other half is governments implementing justice. At the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations, we are strongly advocating for the ratification of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Canada is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Article 8(j) speaks to IPs’ involvement for which guidelines are being developed. But Canada opposes the principle of “free, prior and informed consent”.
3. Trade Perspectives - Arthur Manuel
Water must be kept out of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The
WTO is there to take down all trade barriers globally. The Canadian
government’s non-recognition of Aboriginal and Treaty rights
amounts to a subsidy to the softwood lumber industry because if,
for example, Canada was paying royalties for all our trees, the
US would not be getting such cheap lumber. Submissions have been
made to NAFTA putting forth this position.
Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA) – is promoting an international free trade agreement among all countries of North, Central and South America. In Cochabamba, Bolivia, the attempt to make people pay for privatized water services and even for collected rain water was met with violent protest where at least one person was killed by police. They may use the same kind of force (army/police) to implement this agreement as we defend our water and other resources.
As Indigenous Peoples, we have a lot to say about globalization. We don’t want corporations leading globalization. Because we have Aboriginal and Treaty rights we have a big job to square off with the corporations to protect our rights.
Standard & Poor’s is an international credit rating monitor and agency which establishes credit ratings for countries and businesses. Canada is hiding substantive hidden costs, pushing the extinguishment of Aboriginal title and treaty rights because they owe us so much money.
Our World is Not for Sale is an international solidarity movement of major NGOs (Council of Canadians, Polaris & INET) – providing information to the community level on the effects of globalization.
4. National Perspective: Legal Precedents
– based on a presentation by Don Ryan, Gitksan, (former Delgamuukw
negotiator)
Whether talking about logging, or fishing, or aquaculture, or mining,
or oil and gas issues as they impact on water, all analysis and
action must be based on the underlying concept of inherent rights,
whether considered under treaty rights or other legal agreements.
Delgamuukw: In this internationally known decision, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that Aboriginal rights and title arise out of the occupation of their territories and the ancient laws created by them. Now Aboriginal Peoples (APs) cannot rely on courts and governments but must take that decision and make something out of it.
What is the position of the Crown on the Aboriginal right to “use” water? In one case there was an attempt to adopt the Winter doctrine from the United States, but the people withdrew from the case. In Winter the courts said that without water the reservations would be meaningless; so the courts recognized the right to adequate water.
In Delgamuukw, the court was clear that First Nations (FNs) have an interest in land that includes water. On the numbered treaties, the Crown says that “cede and surrender” includes water. However, the expression of fishing rights within a treaty necessarily includes access to the water and rights to the water, including water quality and way of life.
Sundown: In this case, the SCC said that things incidental to rights are protected. Environmental rights can be Section 35 rights under the Charter: clean environment and clean water is required to exercise Aboriginal rights. If they can show stewardship before contact, and that remains central to today’s culture, then the right to continue to be environmental stewards would be protected by S.35: the right to manage the water. For example, families have been given stretches of water to protect and look after.
The oral histories around the treaties must be affirmed because
they do say that FNs have water rights.
Delgamuukw said that FNs must not use the lands in ways that
prevented future generations from using it in the same way. That’s
sustainable development. FNs have used the argument against unsustainable
logging.
5. National Environmental Perspectives
One First Nation is lobbying against pipelines on traditional territory.
They consider the taking of water out of their territory as detrimental
to their nation. They have also battled over fishing issues; there
is no use having the right to fish if there is no clean water for
the fish to live in to carry on Aboriginal fishing traditions. Mediation
and other processes have been tried to get governments to listen,
but in the end it takes resolve to push back at government.
“We don’t have a lot of money, but we’re willing to spend what resources we have for something that we believe. We are trying to protect the water in our areas because it is crucial to our traditional way of life: to fishing and to protect that fish habitat.” - Paul Jones, Chippewas of Nawash
“Debate tends to be around the high financial costs of projects rather than the environmental costs. Project review processes only look at environmental consequences in a cursory way with the natural environment getting the least concern. Scientific evidence is ignored entirely. It’s the interruption of the natural ebb and flow of the water that does the most harm, and minimal levels do not protect fish. The problem is that governments only focus on human health and not on environmental health. Focusing just on drinking water, or human needs, divides the ecosystem which then becomes divided in people’s minds. This is not in keeping with the way Native people think of the water.” – David McLaren, Chippewas of Nawash
6. Local Perspectives: The Dilemma of Dams
(see previous edition of Solidarité –V12 –
N 03, 2003 -for related article Kyoto Implementation –
What we can Learn from Manitoba about Potential Environmental and
Human Costs)
In keeping with the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams regarding participation of IPs in decision-making, there was considerable discussion around issues of access, capacity, inclusion and meaningful consultation, especially regarding the principle of free, prior and informed consent.
Several presentations brought differing perspectives on the situation of Northern Manitoba First Nations and Métis regarding Manitoba Hydro’s plans to expand the number of mega-dams for electricity production. While some avidly oppose expansion, others are negotiating for limited and down-sized development. It seems there is no easy solution, and each must make its own case. Some things were commonly held to be essential. But while time is taken up with argument from many points of view, there is evidence of irreversible impacts: “Lake Winnipeg is dying. Hydro levels have dropped.”
These are some of the divergent voices from different affected groups in Northern Manitoba:
“It’s true that water is power and the one who has
the power controls the people and that’s what Manitoba Hydro
does. What do the First Nations want instead? What kind of power
do they have to agree to such a project? We should develop, but
we should not leave an environmental deficit for our children to
pay.”
- Tommy Monias, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Cross Lake
“Co-proponents are responsible to make sure that the proponents they are getting into bed with have treated other Aboriginal people equitably. Along with rights comes responsibility and making sure other peoples’ rights are not affected.” – Dan Benoit, Métis Nation/Manitoba Métis Federation
“We have incorporated our culture and beliefs and shared all of this with Manitoba Hydro and the public of Manitoba so that we can build a project that will benefit our people and all the inhabitants of Turtle Island. What we are trying to do is change the status quo and to bring issues, that are essential to our children’s future, to the center of the political arena. We are willing to take charge of our own development and take responsibility of our situation instead of allowing a system which has failed us to continue to govern our lives.” – Agnes Spence, Council Member, Nisichawayasihk First Nation, Nelson House
“Elder direction is very important to us because they are the root system to our community. We do not move unless we are directed by them. Water quality is a very strong issue to our Elders that has gone unnoticed. We want our rights to be respected and consultation must be meaningful with full consent of everyone in the membership. Where our Aboriginal rights are infringed, compensation is due.” – Glen Francois, Justice Seekers of Norway House
“We believe the projects need to meet the standards of responsible stewardship of Aski (Earth) and must result in projects that are sustainable. Justice and stewardship requires that we be meaningfully involved in all decisions that affect our people, land and water. Partnerships have not been to our benefit, but we remain convinced that partnerships are required and are committed to exploring new partnerships with Manitoba Hydro and the Manitoba government. The correspondence between traditional knowledge and science is valuable because when the Elders of both disciplines are saying the same thing, it’s probably the truth.” – The Rev. Melvin Cook, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Split Lake
7. Ways Forward
All the Working Groups presented proposals to the Plenary to begin
to map out their ideas and solutions. It is hoped that the report
will be used in the near future to motivate the development of a
strong water issues network in Canada. Some of the
initial calls were to:
- Maintain a rights-based perspective
- Demand full and meaningful consultation
- Uphold the principle of free, prior and informed consent
- Establish Indigenous Peoples Monitoring bodies to monitor water
- Establish Water Education Centres
- Make sure that penalties are greater than the profits
- Stop water mining
- Control leeching herbicides and pesticides/ mining and logging practices
- Promote clean up programs for polluted water
- Ensure that human waste is properly managed and not dumped into the water
- Keep the oceans nuclear free
- Develop clean energy technology
8. Youth Perspective
“We need to educate our youth and have them come to these
events and tell their stories. We need to utilize the right at all
levels of the institutions that are out there for us and we continue
to open those doors. I want people to go home into their communities
and tell your young people about the truth of the land, the history
of it, because if you don’t know your history you have no
future. Show them how to live that history today.”
9. As the Briefing Paper ii concluded:
Water is a resource vital to the survival of all Indigenous Peoples, and we have fought hard to have water protected according to our own laws, and traditions. Indigenous Peoples maintain our inherent right to protect water, within our local communities, nations, across Canada, and internationally.
The pollution and degradation of waters has had severe impacts on Indigenous Peoples and cultures. Our health and livelihoods are threatened by Canadian and provincial governments which continually deny our inherent right to Self-Determination and refuse to recognize our Aboriginal Title, Rights and Treaty Rights.
Indigenous Peoples have laws and traditional knowledge that, if fully recognized and implemented, would result in land and resource use decisions that would protect the water and entire eco-systems for all life and future generations. Our Waters are Our Responsibilities, and we maintain our resistance to government and corporate actions that undermine the integrity of water and its ability to sustain life into the future. To uphold our duties to protect and care take our territories for all life, we have the responsibility to act now to protect water.
i. Our Waters, Our Responsibility: Indigenous
Water Rights Briefing Paper for Forum Participants (2004), Ardith
Walkem and Nicole Schabus, Indigenous Network on Economics and Trade
ii. ibid. p.24
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