Nation declares state of emergency as Ottawa’s 'colonial mindset' persists on long-standing water concerns

Tragedy five years ago that claimed the lives of a father and his four children on the Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario has the community insistent that the federal government work with them to meet their water needs. On Dec. 15, the First Nation declared a state of emergency and ordered community members to start conserving water. The water alert was issued after a member reported his tap water was coming out brown, consistent with a high iron content. An investigation indicated that the level of the aquifer from the Thames River that feeds into the Oneida water tower is low. The tower services 546 homes and 22 community buildings.