The teen fighting to protect Canada's water — meet Autumn Peltier (7:53)She is the teen fighting to protect Canada's water — meet 13-year-old Canadian Autumn Peltier. She speaks bravely, confidently and passionately, and as a so-called water walker, Peltier pleaded with Justin Trudeau to protect Canada’s water. Now she is gearing up to speak at the United Nations for World Water Day.
Teen activist Autumn Peltier demands clean water for all (3:23)You know something’s wrong when a child speaks up. That’s how Autumn Peltier, a teen from Wiikwemkoong First Nation in Ontario, framed her fight for clean drinking water in Canada’s Indigenous communities. The teen, who’s originally from Manitoulin Island but currently living in Ottawa, told CBC Kids News she’d rather spend her free time doing normal kid stuff. Instead, she’s making speeches on the international stage about the fact that some Canadians don’t have access to clean water. Watch Autumn tell her story in her own words.
April 21, 2023: Water is sacred | Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild on CBC Radio 1 (54:00)For Indigenous people water is more than just hydration. Water is alive and holds a spirit. Water is life.
Stephanie Thorassie advocates for the Seal River Watershed, a pristine region in northern Manitoba, about 200 km west of Churchill. It is a vast area central to the Sayisi Dene people, who have served as its guardians for millenia. As the executive director of the Seal River Watershed Alliance Stephanie leads a partnership of four First Nations pushing to have the area designated an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
In 2003, Anishnaabe Elder Josephine Mandamin took her first ceremonial water walk around Lake Superior. She wanted to share a message: the water is sick and people need to speak, love and fight for it. Following Mandamin's footsteps, Elder Shirley Williams, an Anishinaabe Elder from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, along with her niece Elizabeth Osawamick have been organizing annual water walks around the Kawartha region of Ontario since 2010.
Lawyer and activist Pamela Palmater created a documentary that warns: we must work together to save water – before it's too late. The short documentary is called Samqwan which means water in the Mi'kmaq language. Pam is a lawyer, professor, activist and author who wants to raise awareness around the threats to water - from pipelines to clear-cutting to water pollution.
The Story of Grassy NarrowsJun 21, 2016
A river poisoned with mercury. Tap water that is contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. Decades of government inaction.
The story of Grassy Narrows is only one example of more than 100 First Nations communities in Canada with no access to safe drinking water.
WATER JOURNEY - Trailer (3:37)Oct 22, 2012
WATER JOURNEY: A 94 minute documentary about Grandmother Josephine Mandamin, water warrior. This remarkable story follows one womans quest to raise awareness about water's fragile existence.
Water, the sacred relationshipWhy Water?
For generations, the relationship between Aboriginal people and the rest of Canada has been damaged. Can water be the common ground that begins to reconcile this relationship?
Safe Water for First Nations | Council of CanadiansNOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CLEAN WATER.
Yet at any given time there are drinking water advisories in dozens of First Nations communities across Canada. The lack of clean, safe drinking water in First Nations is one of the greatest violations of the UN-recognized human rights to water and sanitation.
