For the past ten years, Tyendinaga feminist Lisa Cadue has led a group of Indigenous people on an annual water walk from Katarokwi/Kingston to Odawa/Ottawa. Before departing, they collect water from Lake Ontario using a copper pail. The women in the walk wear ribbon skirts and carry the pail throughout the journey. After completing the 163-kilometre walk, the water in the pail becomes clean and safe to drink.
The water walk aims to protest the ongoing lack of clean water in Indigenous reserves. Despite Canada having the world's third largest freshwater reserves, many Indigenous communities have been under boil water advisories for decades. The lack of clean water supply is not a result of resource scarcity, but rather a structural failing. The federal government not only fails to provide adequate funding for Indigenous reserves to build sustainable access to clean water, but it also fails to hold industrial polluters accountable. This negligence has led to additional health concerns for Indigenous residents, including the risk of heavy metal poisoning from contaminated water.
This International Women's Week, we honour the resilience and courage of Indigenous women who have taken a stand against the systemic injustices their communities face. Indigenous people’s fight for clean water is a fight for basic human rights. As uninvited guests on their land, we must stand in solidarity with Indigenous people and urge the federal government of Canada to take accountability for ensuring Indigenous people’s basic human rights.
