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.
I am a grandmother, water protector and high school teacher from the Mi’kmaq Nation, in what is currently known as Nova Scotia, Canada. I have been working to protect our waters and lands from colonial control and dangerous resource extraction my whole life. When Europeans arrived in Mi’kmaq territory, we never ceded lands or accepted defeat, though for the last 450 years Canada has been constantly assaulting our people, invading our lands and communities and stealing our resources.
