Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

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Raising awareness of Indigenous water rights in B.C.

Raising awareness of Indigenous water rights in B.C.

Now, he works as a lecturer at UBCO, where his work is focused on Indigenous water rights and customary laws. On Jan. 26, Sam was one of the keynote speakers at a workshop designed “to bring together diverse stakeholders to discuss and improve understanding of Aboriginal water rights in British Columbia,” according to the event page. The objective of the three-hour workshop was to raise awareness around the implications of Aboriginal title and rights as they relate to water in B.C., within the Syilx People’s unceded territory.

'Citizen scientists' being trained to monitor water on Manitoulin Island

'Citizen scientists' being trained to monitor water on Manitoulin Island

A non-profit group is working with a First Nation community in northeastern Ontario to become citizen scientists. Swim Drink Fish, with funding from Environment Canada, is continuing to set up citizen science water monitoring hubs. The group is now working with Zhiibaahaasing First Nation, located at the western end of Manitoulin Island on the northshore of Lake Huron. "We're trying to build a community of people around the Great Lakes who are working for swimmable, drinkable and fishable water," Mark Mattson, president of Swim Drink Fish said.

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