Water Summit – June 17thCynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D. - Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation

Knowing the Sacred…

Water is one of the critical elements to life. If you take care of the water spirit it will remain happy and will provide for your needs. Every living being relies on water for life – insects, fish, birds, wildlife and plants. And we in turn rely on them for our survival.

Many people take water for granted. Yet water serves our every basic need. We drink water to quench our thirst. We need water to grow and cook our food. When we have a fever we are soothed by water. We cleanse our selves and our homes with water.

Seeing the Sacred…

WHEN WE PRAY WE OFFER WATER AS AN OFFERING.

WATER IS NEEDED FOR OUR CEREMONIAL SWEATS.

The elders have told us that a time will come when there will be a scarcity of clean water. Once we were able to drink from any lake or stream. Those days are gone. The prophesy has come to pass.

Violet Poitras, Elder, Paul First Nation

Georgina Island…

This is the community I

live in, on Lake Simcoe. It is

fresh water, but we cannot

drink the water, and our

children get sick when they

swim in the water, especially

in mid-summer.

Accessibility of Water?

Abundance?

Our elders remember…

Joining Forces…

Miigwetch!

We all have a reason to

adjust our vision and view

of water in our lives, it is time

to see water through a sacred

lens, Aboriginal people have

been waiting…