Reconnecting Community Through Land and Water
As a part of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA)’s Giving Tuesday Campaign, we are honoured to share the story of our work and the impact that the Sovereignty in Action (SIA) Awards have made in our communities across so-called Canada. These initiatives uplift Indigenous-led climate solutions across Turtle Island, and we’re grateful to be recognized among so many powerful movements protecting land, water, and future generations.
One of the 30 SIA Award winners, The Waterways Collective, is a volunteer, non-for-profit, Indigenous youth-led grassroots organization that focuses on providing land and water-based activities. The following story highlights the heart of The Waterway Collective and the important work they carry out to reconnect Indigenous communities with land and water.
Reconnecting Community Through Land and Water
We are The Waterways Collective! We are a volunteer non-for profit Indigenous Youth led Grassroot organization that focuses on providing land and water based activities. Our programming aims to reconnect Indigenous Peoples to our ancestral waterways.
The idea for The Waterways Collective stemmed from seeing Indigenous Youth not connecting to nature due to lack of experience and accessible programming. We aim to eliminate as many barriers to accessing nature by providing all of the equipment and teaching all levels of experience through our programming. Our team ensures that we have more than the necessary safety certifications to allow our programming to run smoothly and safely.
Throughout the summer, we run evening paddle programming designed to get Indigenous people engaged and back on the water. We also run multiple multi-day canoe trips through various river systems in the Robinson Huron Treaty Territory that retrace the ancestral Waterways. We are actively growing our own manoomin beds so in the fall we bring our canoes and ask any local Indigenous People if they want to be part of the reseeding process. We are approximately two years away from being able to harvest and hope to host a feast once we can.
The history of the area is a huge factor in why we do what we do. Serpent River First Nation (which we are all from) has been severely impacted by the historical uranium mine operations that used to operate in our headwaters, and the Cutler Acid site along our Huron shore. Both of these operations have left irreparable harm and scars to the land that have impacted our ability to harvest and connect to the land.
As a result we have created programming in contaminant monitoring programming that aims to educate the local Indigenous communities and youth on the effects of these operations and how to test for contaminants. Indigenous sovereignty is integral to who we are which is why we are grant funded and not affiliated to any local governing authority. This creates some difficulty in acquiring funds for our operations which further highlights the importance of low-barrier funding.
“The low-barrier funding that we have been awarded through Indigenous Climate Action has been essential for our operations. With these funds, we have been able to acquire necessary gear like canoes that are integral to our operations and would not have been possible without their support.”
If you would love to see the work we do, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram under The Waterways Collective. Chi-Miigwetch!!
ICA is proud to support small, community-led projects like The Waterways Collective – projects that make a big difference by restoring connections to land, water, and culture. With this continued support, we can keep creating safe and meaningful opportunities for Indigenous people to reclaim our relationships with the land and water.
This Giving Tuesday, our shared generosity goes a long way in helping Indigenous-led projects like The Waterways Collective continue the amazing work they’re doing in their communities.
Call to Action
By donating today, every dollar raised goes directly into our work, whether it’s creating and supporting resources on climate justice, offering workshops and training, or amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples across so-called Canada. You can also support us through sharing and amplifying our message to your networks and communities. You can help make an impact through the expansion of our audiences. ICA is always looking to engage with new partnerships, audiences who are new or unknown to climate justice initiatives, remote Indigenous communities, and share impact with other organizations that strive to actively make change for our environments.
The year may be coming to an end, but our dedication to Mother Earth continues. We invite you to continue our story with us:
Donate Today: Your contribution directly funds Indigenous-led climate justice initiatives. Every dollar is an act of solidarity – a commitment to protecting what is sacred.
Spread the Word: Share this campaign with your networks.
Stay Engaged: Follow Indigenous-led organizations and activists. Support policies that protect Indigenous rights.
Let’s do more than acknowledge the problem: let’s act. Together, we can ensure that resources go where they are needed most, empowering Indigenous leadership and community-led solutions.
Join us.
Take a stand.
Donate today.
