What is the meaning of water to indigenous communities in Manitoba?

Aimée Craft, legal scholar specializing in indigenous perspectives on treaties and Canadian aboriginal law

Indigenous legal scholar Aimée Craft reflects on the significance of water to indigenous communities in Canada, both as the source of life and, in another sense, as the source of all the contemporary issues facing First Nations people today. Hydro-electric development, in particular, has impacted the conditions of indigenous communities in Manitoba in regards to their lands, the ecosystems and wildlife within these territories, and the relative connectedness or isolation of communities along crucial waterways. Such circumstances place water at the center of many crucial discussions regarding the sustainability of First Nations communities, the cultural heritage of these people and traditional indigenous lands that must be safeguarded in laws and treaties.

Anishinaabe Nibi Inaakonigewin Report

Bifrost gratefully acknowledges Prof. Robert Boschman of Mount Royal University and the leadership of the research network NIES for all their valuable work and support behind the scenes that helped make the interview excerpted in this video possible. Grateful acknowledgment is also made to Mount Royal University and the conference Under Western Skies 2016, where the interview was filmed.