First Nations and environmentalists say they are angry the federal and British Columbia governments continue to stonewall American requests for a joint investigation of cross-border contamination from coal mining as meetings of the panel that mediates such issues wrap up. "They can sit on every fence they want, but at the end of the day, we're going to do what's right," said Heidi Gravelle, chief of the Tobacco Plains First Nation, one of several bands upset over selenium contamination in southeastern B.C.'s Elk Valley from coal mines.

Research shows that Indigenous communities in Canada are at higher risk from climate-related disasters such as flooding. Myrle Ballard is setting out to make sure Indigenous people are also part of the solution to climate change. Ballard is the first director of Environment and Climate Change Canada's new division of Indigenous Science, a role in which she's tasked with raising awareness of Indigenous science within the department and helping the government find ways to integrate it into its policies.

A boil water advisory in Sachigo Lake First Nation that had been in effect for four years was officially lifted last week. The advisory, which was upgraded to a long-term advisory in 2019, was rescinded after upgrades to the water treatment system were finished. The work included an expansion of the wastewater lagoon. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to address the matter in the House of Commons on Wednesday, “That brings us to 31 boil-water advisories left to lift nationally, 136 since we took office that have been lifted,” Hajdu said in prepared comments that were submitted to NWONewswatch.

We have a great deal to lose if we don’t acknowledge our shared responsibility to protect and restore the Great Lakes. That’s the underlying premise of Biinaagami, a multi-year collaborative project undertaken by Canadian Geographic and Swim Drink Fish. The project was launched September 26 in Niagara on the Lake with a number of First Nations leaders from Manitoulin Island as key participants.

Teassa MacMartin first came to study at the University of Manitoba as a mature student, with a one-year-old at home. Her son is now 10, and in just under a decade, she has obtained a bachelor of science in biological sciences, participated in UM’s Science Co-Op Program and is now pursuing doctoral studies in microbiology. MacMartin is also a Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner in the Community Impact category.

A boil water advisory that was affecting between eight and 12 households in Mînî Thnî has been lifted as of Oct. 15. Indigenous Services Canada posted the boil water advisory Oct. 11 as a precautionary measure in lieu of planned maintenance at the East Morley Water Treatment Plant, separate from the main plant supplying water to the townsite. Simon Sihota, regional manager of environmental public health for Indigenous Services Canada in Alberta, said the work involved replacing older pipes and distribution headers within the treatment plant, which involved taking the water plant offline and depressurizing the system.

On October 12, 2022, Chief Lorraine Cobiness of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations; and the Honourable Greg Rickford, Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs, announced the successful tripartite settlement agreement between Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario regarding Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation's flooding claim. The settlement provided Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation with $83,082,612 in total compensation, with Canada paying $63,243,003 and Ontario paying $19,839,609.

Anishinabek Nation celebrated the graduation of 14 interns from the Georgian Bay Drinking Water Internship Program recently. In association with the Ontario Water First Education & Training Inc. and Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), Gezhtoojig Employment & Training, the paid internship program started in June 2021. It offers great opportunity as it recruits young Indigenous adults to be in the drinking water treatment industry. The program gives students the knowledge and experience to obtain entry-level certifications required to begin careers in water treatment. Through the skills they obtain in this internship program, students become qualified personnel, supporting communities much like our own, on the the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa peoples and the land chosen as home by the Métis peoples of B.C., in having access to safe, clean drinking water for the foreseeable future.

A group of B.C. First Nations are calling on Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan to release more water into the Nechako River after a sudden die-off of endangered white sturgeon. Last month, B.C.’s Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship reported 11 dead adult white sturgeon had been found in the Nechako River — an unusual occurrence. White sturgeon can grow to six metres long and live more than 100 years. They are an endangered species with between 300 and 600 remaining in the wild. Scientists said the fish had not died from disease, chemical exposure or due to fishing, and had no signs of injury. The government then reached out to local First Nations.

The spread of dust caused by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River mine is larger than predicted and is impacting drinking water, wildlife and sea ice in the surrounding area, says a Qikiqtani Inuit Association manager. Regulatory affairs manager Chris Spencer presented three years’ worth of reports to the association’s board members for the first time Thursday. The reports summarize an investigation, launched in 2020, into how dust spread from the mine is affecting the environment and Inuit culture. QIA found foxes near the mine that were “deeply discoloured red” and acting strangely; that dust spread was worse than what Baffinland had predicted it would be each year; and that water in several locations had surpassed national drinking water safety guidelines for aluminium content.

The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte – Kenhtè:ke Kanyen’kehá:ka will soon have more reliable safe drinking water at 320 more residences thanks to 21 kilometres of new water main infrastructure. Chief Donald Maracle and the Council of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) hosted a sod-turning ceremony on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, at the corner of Beach Road and Young Street in Shannonville, marking the beginning of the third phase of the project, which has the long-term goal of contributing to the lifting of five long-term drinking water advisories in the community.

Wet’suwet’en land defenders in Canada are at risk of serious human rights violations as the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline has reportedly begun under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River), said Amnesty International today. “The decision to allow the construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en lands without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs is a brazen violation of the community’s right to self-determination and a lamentable step backwards in Canada’s journey toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Moreover, expansion of fossil fuels extraction and infrastructure is against Canada’s obligation to protect human rights from the worst impacts of the climate crisis,” said Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada (English-Speaking). “Amnesty International Canada calls on the governments of Canada and B.C. to halt pipeline construction in the traditional, unceded territories of the Wet’suwet’en.”

At one time, the little blue cabin on the shores of the Athabasca River was brimming with life: a mother, a father and their 15 children coming together to hunt and gather, share family meals and tackle the many chores. “We prayed as a family, we picked berries as a family,” recalls 71-year-old Alice Rigney, whose childhood was spent in the two-bedroom structure in a place called Jackfish, a northeastern Alberta fishing spot.

Despite tireless advocacy, the federal government is still denying Indigenous communities much of the funding they have requested for discovering the remains at former residential schools and healing programs. Across the country, there are still 32 long-term boil water advisories in effect in 28 communities, and at least 45 short-term drinking waters advisories in Indigenous communities. More troubling, as Indigenous women and girls face an ongoing genocide, the government has failed to build new shelters to help Indigenous women and gender-diverse people and children flee violence.

On a clear crisp morning in northern Manitoba, John Henderson III and Drayden Jobb launch a single-engine boat from the Conawapa boat launch in Gilliam into the waters of the Nelson River, to pull the net they set overnight to catch sturgeon. The two young men, both in their 20s, are from the Fox Lake Cree Nation, whose people have been hunting alongside the river and fishing it for generations. "The mighty Nelson," Jobb says as the boat makes its way from shore.

If First Nation communities want to be ready for tomorrow's climate change challenges, don't wait on help or support from the government, says the former chief in British Columbia. Patrick Michell was at the National Climate Gathering of the Assembly of First Nations in Fredericton to share what he considers the success story of his community. It "broke dependency," he said, by creating its own revenue streams and arriving at a place where it expects to be water and food secure for the next 100 years.

Last week, Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), Gezhtoojig Employment & Training, Anishinabek Nation, and Water First Education & Training Inc. celebrated the graduation of 14 interns from the Georgian Bay Drinking Water Internship Program. This program is a paid internship that recruits young Indigenous adults to the drinking water field, and helps them obtain entry-level certifications required to begin their careers in water treatment. Having qualified, local personnel also supports communities in having access to safe, clean drinking water for the long-term.

Serendipity seemed to strike the participants in an Indigenous water ceremony in Niagara-on-the-Lake, held by the Niagara River — the ceremony kicking off a project that's all about just how important water is for us all. As participants raised their voices in song, rain starting falling on them outside the Fort George National Historic Site’s navy hall — which did not go uncommented on by the ceremony’s leader, Linda Manitowabi of Wiikwemkoong First Nation.

Water services in Wahta Mohawk Territory have seen a lot of improvements recently. With input from the Wahta Mohawks Chief and the director of public works, Wahta Mohawks communications officer Sean Molnar provided information about the community’s water services. Wahta’s water systems include water wells and treatment systems. There are two types of water systems: those owned and managed by Wahta — located in buildings like the Administration Building, Cultural Healing Centre, Nursing Station, Public Works Shop, ICG Building, and rental units — and those owned and managed by private homeowners and businesses.

Autumn was only 12 years old in 2016 when she met with PM Justin Trudeau to address his unfulfilled promise to "protect the water". Since then, she remains vocal on the global stage and at home to advocate for clean drinking water. As the Chief Water Commissioner for Anishinabek Nation in Ontario, Autumn is an outstanding example of what youth are capable of as today's leaders, and the immense impact can achieve.