Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin
Living Lakes Canada (LLC) has been working internally to learn about Indigenous knowledge systems with Michele Sam, a Ktunaxa scholar and consultant who has over 25 years of active research with Indigenous Peoples across Canada, and across disciplines including fields of Health, Governance, Education, Human Development and Social Work.
In an Indigenous pre-engagement training held over two three-hour sessions in May and April 2021, LLC team members began to learn about how to develop sustainable and respectful cross cultural partnerships with place-based Indigenous Peoples. LLC staff have learned about the importance of place-based cultural context and examined the structure of existing programs and approaches to determine how to Indigenous Peoples are involved in the planning stage and design process of projects.
This includes the development of the “Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin” webinar series over the month of August 2021.
A webinar series has been organized to create space, time and place for a Knowledge Holder and a technician from each of the three Indigenous Peoples (Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, Okanagan) to present on their values, how they relate to water and the future of water in the Columbia Basin.
During the ‘Bringing the Salmon Home Festival‘ that took place in May 2021, the Secwépemc, Okanagan and Ktunaxa speakers began to talk about relationships between them as pre-treaty Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing. LLC would like to create space for this dialogue to continue and support Indigenous Peoples where appropriate. The fourth and final webinar will provide a platform for a spiritual and/or cultural interpreter from each of the three Peoples (Okanagan, Ktunaxa and Secwépemc) to speak together.
The “Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin” webinar series will occur on four consecutive Tuesdays: August 3, 10, 17 and 23 from 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm PST/1:30 pm – 4:30 pm MST.
An invitation will be sent out to LLC’s mailing list once details are finalized complete with times, speaker information and a link to online registration.
LLC would be pleased for your participation in this important work of truth and reconciliation.
If you have any questions ahead of time, please contact LLC Program Assistant Anwen Rees at anwen@livinglakescanada.ca.
