This paper is based on traditional knowledge policy research undertaken over the last 15 years with First Nations in Ontario. First Nations traditional knowledge-based responses to the water crisis evoke an alternative narrative to the dominant discourse. Canadian governments are focused primarily on scientific and technological approaches to resolving water quality issues. In contrast, First Nations are concerned mostly with the recognition of Aboriginal and treaty rights in relation to water. Application of such rights, as expressed by Elders and other traditional knowledge holders, leads to a much more holistic approach to water governance, one that involves fulfilling inherent responsibilities to ensuring water is protected. An overview of key elements of traditional knowledge as they relate to water governance and protection is provided. These are contrasted with highlights of Canadian government responses to water quality concerns across Canada. In order for progress to be made in the future, a nation-to-nation approach between Canadian governments and First Nations is needed.
Anishinabek/Ontario Resource Management Council. (2009). Anishinabek traditional knowledge and water policy report. Union of Ontario Indians. Nipissing First Nation, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.onwa.ca/upload/documents/water-report.pdf
3.
Assembly of First Nations. (1993). Reclaiming our nationhood, strengthening our heritage: Report to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.Ottawa, Canada: Author.
4.
BakkerK. (Ed.). (2007). Eau Canada: The future of Canada's water.Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press.
5.
BorrowsJ. (2010). Canada's Indigenous constitution.Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
6.
BowieR. (2013). Indigenous self-governance and the deployment of knowledge.Journal of Canadian Studies, 47(1), 91–121.
7.
ChiblowS., & McGregorD. (2014). Water is life: Traditional ecological knowledge final report.Toronto, Canada: Chiefs of Ontario and Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
8.
Chiefs of Ontario. (2008a). Report of the First Nations water policy forum: Garden River First Nation.Toronto, Canada: Author.
9.
Chiefs of Ontario. (2008b). Water declaration of Anishinabek, Mushkegowuk and Onkwehonwe in Ontario.Toronto, Canada: Author.
10.
Chiefs of Ontario. (2011). Written submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples on Bill S-11: Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.Toronto, Canada: Author.
11.
CorbiereA. (2014). “Their own forms of which they take the most notice”: Diplomatic metaphors and symbolism on wampum belts. In CorbiereA., CorbiereM., McGregorD., & MigwansC. (Eds.), Anishinaabewin niiwin: Four rising winds (pp. 47–64). M'Chigeeng, Canada: Ojibwe Cultural Foundation.
12.
CorpuzV. (2006). Indigenous peoples and international debates on water: Reflections and challenges. In BoelensR., ChibaM., & NakashimaD. (Eds.), Water and indigenous peoples, knowledge of nature (pp. 24–35). Paris, France: UNESCO.
13.
Doyle-BedwellP., & CohenF. (2001). Aboriginal people in Canada: Their role in shaping environmental trends in the twenty first century. In ParsonE. (Ed.), Governing the environment: Persistent challenges, uncertain innovations. (pp. 169–206). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
14.
HoudeN. (2007). The six faces of traditional ecological knowledge: Challenges and opportunities for Canadian co-management arrangements.Ecology and Society, 12(2), article 34.
KamangaD., KahnJ., McGregorD., SherryM., & ThorntonA. (2001). Drinking water in Ontario First Nation communities: Present challenges and future directions for on-reserve water treatment in the province of Ontario. Submission to Part II of the Walkerton Inquiry Commission. Brantford, Canada: Chiefs of Ontario.
18.
KimmererR. (2012). Searching for synergy: Integrating traditional and scientific ecological knowledge in environmental science education.Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 317–323.
19.
KingJ. (2014). Haudenosaunee position paper on the Great Lakes. In BellfyP. (Ed.), Honor the earth: Great Lakes Indigenous response to environmental crisis (pp. 209–236). Jacksonville, FL: Ziibi Press.
20.
LaValleyG. (2006). Aboriginal traditional knowledge and source water protection: First Nations’ views on taking care of water.Toronto, Canada: Chiefs of Ontario.
21.
MandaminJ. (2012). N'guh izhi chigaye, nibi onji: I will do it for the water. In CorbiereA., McGregorD., & MigwansC. (Eds.), Anishinaabewin niizh: Culture movements, critical moments (pp. 12–23). McChigeeng, Canada: Ojibwe Cultural Foundation.
22.
McDermottL., & WilsonP. (2010). Ginawaydaganuk: Algonquin law on access and benefit sharing.Policy Matters, 17, 205–214.
23.
McGregorD. (2004). Coming full circle: Indigenous knowledge, environment, and our future.American Indian Quarterly, 28(3/4), 385–410.
24.
McGregorD. (2009). Honouring our relations: An Anishinabe perspective on environmental justice. In AgyemanJ., Haluza-DelayR., PeterC., & O'RileyP., (Eds.), Speaking for ourselves: Constructions of environmental justice in Canada (pp. 27–41). Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia Press.
25.
McGregorD. (2012). Traditional knowledge: Considerations for protecting water in Ontario. (Special issue on water and Indigenous peoples.)International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(3), article 11.
26.
McGregorD. (2013). Anishinaabe environmental knowledge. In KulnieksA., LongboatD., & YoungK. (Eds.), Contemporary studies in environmental and Indigenous pedagogies: A curricula of stories and place (pp. 77–88). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
27.
McGregorD. (2014). First Nations, traditional ecological knowledge and the state of the Great Lakes ecosystem conference. In BellfyP. (Ed.), Honor the earth: Great Lakes Indigenous response to environmental crisis (pp. 107–126). Jacksonville, FL: Ziibi Press.
28.
O'ConnorD. (2002). First Nations. In Part two. Report of the Walkerton inquiry: A strategy for safe drinking water (pp. 485–497). Toronto, Canada: Queen's Printer for Ontario.
29.
PhareM. (2009). Denying the source: The crisis of First Nation water rights.Surrey, Canada: Rocky Mountain Books.
30.
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). (1996). People to people, nation to nation: Highlights from the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Supply and Services.
31.
RuruJ. (2009). Introducing why it matters: Indigenous peoples, the law and water.The Journal of Water Law, 20(5/6), 221–223.
32.
SwainH., LouttitS., & HrudeyS. (2006). Report of the expert panel on safe drinking water for First Nations. Volume 1.Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
WalkemA. (2007). The land is dry: Indigenous peoples, water, and environmental justice. In BakkerK. (Ed.), Eau Canada: The future of Canada's water (pp. 303–320). Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia Press.
36.
WhiteG. (2006). Cultures in collision: Traditional knowledge and Euro-Canadian governance processes in northern land claim boards.Arctic, 59(4), 401–414.
37.
WhyteK. (2013). On the role of traditional ecological knowledge as a collaborative concept: A philosophical study.Ecological Processes, 2, 7. Retrieved from http://www.ecologicalprocesses.com/content/2/1/7
38.
World Commission on Environment, and Development. (1987). Our common future.Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
