Honoring Indigenous Wisdom in Water Governance
Water is life. This ancient truth, echoed in the rallying cry of Indigenous water protectors across Turtle Island, underscores the deep respect and kinship many cultures maintain with the lifeblood of our planet. Yet, as settler-colonial practices have systematically erased and disrupted these sacred relationships, the environmental threats facing our shared waters have only intensified.
Reclaiming our role as responsible stewards of water requires us to unsettle the power structures that have long governed water policy and management. By centering Indigenous knowledge and leadership, we can chart a more equitable, sustainable path forward – one that honors the cultural heritage woven into the ebb and flow of our waterways.
Resisting the Erasure of Indigenous Water Governance
The Great Lakes Basin, home to the largest freshwater system on Earth, offers a poignant example of how settler-colonial histories have sought to obscure and undermine Indigenous water governance. The Anishinaabe-speaking peoples, including the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Mississauga, have cultivated deep, reciprocal relationships with the Great Lakes for centuries, harvesting wild rice as a staple of their cultural and dietary practices.
However, the industrialization that transformed the region in the 1800s – through logging, mining, and shipping – gravely disrupted these traditional stewardship practices. As the environmental health of the lakes deteriorated, the ability of Indigenous communities to exercise their treaty-protected rights was increasingly threatened.
“Loving a lake is not always comfortable,” as Caitlin Joseph poignantly reflects. The stories of environmental degradation, from the infamous Cuyahoga River fires to the toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie, haunt those who care deeply about these places. Yet, it was not until Joseph learned the Anishinaabe names of the Great Lakes that she truly grasped the deeper context of the harms they faced – a history rooted in the violent legacy of settler colonialism.
The ongoing battles over oil pipelines, such as Enbridge’s Line 3 and Line 5, illustrate how this colonial history continues to shape water politics in the region. While the State of Michigan’s recent revocation of the Line 5 easement represented a landmark acknowledgment of treaty rights, the approval of Line 3’s construction in the face of Indigenous resistance reveals the fragility of these hard-won protections.
“Settler accounts of Great Lakes water governance laud the region as a place of generally harmonious political collaboration,” the authors note. “Lost in many of these conversations is a substantial engagement with questions of water justice beyond the settler state.” Amplifying the voices of Indigenous activists and their allies is essential to unsettling the power structures that uphold these mainstream narratives.
Reclaiming Water as a Commons
In the face of these persistent threats, some advocacy groups have sought to bridge Indigenous and settler perspectives on water governance by drawing on the concept of the “commons.” The Great Lakes Commons, a bioregional network of artists, educators, and activists, has championed the idea of the Great Lakes as a shared resource to be managed in deference to Indigenous teachings.
The commons, broadly defined as aspects of life that the public uses jointly and has a collective responsibility to maintain, resonates with many Indigenous governance practices. Treaties like the “Dish with One Spoon” alliance, which outlined shared protocols for resource use, reflect a non-transactional view of the nonhuman world that aligns with commons-based frameworks.
By legally mobilizing commons-based jurisprudence, advocates hope to facilitate decolonial approaches to water management that uphold treaty rights and enable Indigenous-led co-governance. This work builds on precedents like public trust doctrine and rights of nature, which aim to redesign laws to be more reflective of Indigenous worldviews.
“Decolonization is not a metaphor,” the authors caution. While commons-based approaches offer an important step toward more equitable water governance, a full commitment to decolonization ultimately requires the repatriation of land and the formal recognition of colonial violence. Organizations like the Great Lakes Commons are part of a broader effort to render settler histories visible and hold power structures accountable for the treaties they have made.
Embracing a Decolonial Future for Water
As the battles over oil pipelines in the Great Lakes Basin illustrate, the struggle to preserve cultural heritage through water stewardship is an ongoing and precarious one. Yet, the relative success in the Line 5 case, stemming from a formal recognition of treaty rights, points to the power of re-politicizing water governance.
By centering Indigenous knowledge and leadership, we can reimagine our relationship with water in ways that honor its fundamental role in sustaining life. As Aimee Craft, an Anishinaabe-Métis lawyer, explains, “Water has its own agency and therefore we need to recognize that in taking up this responsibility, it’s not one of control or ownership, or jurisdiction over water, but rather a relationship to and with water.”
This shift in perspective is essential to preserving the cultural heritage embedded in our waterways. Whether through the revival of traditional practices, the legal recognition of Indigenous water rights, or the development of commons-based frameworks, the path forward requires us to unlearn the settler-colonial impulse to control and exploit nature.
In the words of Aldo Leopold, we must ask ourselves: is our relationship with water one that “tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community?” Or does it “tend otherwise?” By heeding the wisdom of Indigenous water stewards, we can chart a more sustainable, equitable future – one where our “liquid legacies” continue to nourish the living world for generations to come.
Supporting a Sustainable Water Future
At Joint Action for Water, we believe that preserving cultural heritage and promoting environmental sustainability go hand in hand. That’s why we’re proud to support community-driven initiatives that empower Indigenous leadership in water governance, facilitate the revival of traditional practices, and develop innovative, commons-based approaches to water management.
Through our grant programs, advocacy campaigns, and educational resources, we’re committed to amplifying the voices of water protectors and fostering collaborative solutions that honor the inextricable link between human and environmental well-being. Join us in our mission to create a more just, resilient, and water-secure world for all.
