Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Ruby St. Amand, a resident of Inuvik, N.W.T., said she's never seen the water this high. St. Amand has lived at her camp about 10 kilometers northwest of Inuvik since 1995. While she said they have managed flooding in the past, they've always been left with land above water. "This year, [we were] housebound," she told Loren McGinnis, host of CBC Radio's The Trailbreaker. "We have a little 12-foot boat tied up right to our steps."
Dene National Chief Norman Yakeleya said that the issue of water safety, especially flowing from the oil sands, has been a concern for as long as he has been Chief. In a tele-press conference Yakeleya told media that he is “befuddled as to why an essential service, such as monitoring the quality of the water coming from the oil sands production fields, was suspended.” He said that water is essential for drinking, for fish, for the animals, and “for the sake of all people in the Northwest Territories.”
