World Water Day 2024 - Protecting Our Water For Future Generations
8.00 - 9.00 am Breakfast Provided
Welcoming and Opening Prayer
9.00 - 10.00 am Curt Young will MC, Welcoming from Grand Chief Arthur Noskey of Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta and Jesse Cardinal of Keepers of the Water. The opening prayer will be offered during this time
Keepers of the Water (KOW) Intro & Updates with Jesse Cardinal
10.00 - 10.30 am Introduction to KOW, updates on proposed dumping of the tar sands tailings ponds, AER and impacts on Treaty rights, the spreading drought situation across our territories
10.30 - 10.45 am Break
Community-Based Water Monitoring with Paul Belanger from KOW
10.45 - 11.15 am Keepers of the water monitoring program and upcoming community info sessions, Trends in addressing drinking water legislation. Interactive Data Map for Water Monitoring.
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) & Alberta Wilderness Society
11.15 -11.30 am Intro to CAPE, physicians concerned about the environment and health. Intro to Alberta Wilderness Society and impacts on wetlands in Treaty 8 Territory
12.30 - 1.00 pm Break - Lunch Provided and songs by Curt Young
Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta with Daryl Auger
1.00 - 1.45 pm Updates on First Nations’ community water concerns and sharing solutions
First Nations of Alberta with Cody Sharphead Treaty 8
1.45 - 2.30 pm Watershed Management Planning
2.30 - 2.45 pm Break
Update from Solstice Environmental Management
2.45 - 3.30 pm Core lake sample testing and looking at cumulative impacts on watersheds
Closing Elder Speaker, Final Remarks & Closing Prayer
3.30 - 4.00 pm Treaty 8 Elder, Keepers of the Water staff and Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta staff
Breakfast and lunch will be provided for attendees.
Tickets $25 - Registration Link HERE
Attendees are responsible for their own hotel and or any other travel-related expenses.
Exploring Canada’s National Pollultant Release Inventory (NPRI) - Promoting the Community “Right To Know”
Exploring Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) - Promoting the Community “Right To Know”
Do you want to know what types of pollutants are released and transferred in and near your community?
Join Keepers of the Water and the Canadian Environmental Law Association for a free webinar on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, at 12 pm (noon) Mountain Time zone.
For more information, contact Crystal by email at projects@keepersofthewater.ca.
Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan; What You Need To Know―Four-Part Webinar Series
Webinar #1: Indigenous Resistance to Uranium Mining
Please note that we will be broadcasting this webinar series in the Saskatchewan time zone.
Everyone is welcome to attend this webinar series that will help you know more about what is happening with uranium mining in Northern Saskatchewan. While many people have been busy in survival mode and exhausted from the pandemic, wars around the world, and the extreme rising cost of living, uranium mining lobbyists and governments have been taking advantage, passing industry-favourable laws that will further degrade and threaten freshwater systems already desperately overburdened by farming and mining use and wastewater byproducts.
No registration is required. We will broadcast live from our Facebook Event Page;
https://fb.me/e/6zNAhAEJG
Learn more about our webinar guests:
Marius Paul (Dënesųłinë́)
Marius is a person of the Poplar Tree Home Dene from English River First Nation in northern Saskatchewan. He has been involved with creating awareness and disseminating factual information about the dangers of the nuclear industry since the 70s when the uranium mining companies began to expand into Denesuline territory. He and his wife are members of the Committee for Future Generations, which has been working to address the risks the uranium/nuclear industry imposes on people in the north and worldwide. Marius has supported many front-line actions on Turtle Island over the last 40 years.
Candyce Paul
Candyce has lived in northern Saskatchewan with her husband, Marius Paul, for over three decades. She spent many years living and learning the traditional northern culture, which she is passing on to the next generation. She is happiest in the natural environment and tending her garden. She has assisted in home-schooling her two children and co-founded Reclaiming Our Youth Home Front School, where she worked with many students. Candyce is a KOW board member and chair of the Housing Committee at English River First Nation, where she and her family live.
Leona Morgan Diné (she/her)
Leona is an anti-nuclear agitator fighting nuclear colonialism since 2007. Leona co-founded Haul No! and is a graduate student at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, USA. Leona collaborates nationally with many groups to address the entire nuclear fuel chain in the United States and is part of the international campaign Don’t Nuke The Climate, which focuses on nuclear energy as a global climate issue.
Keepers of the Water's 2023 Annual General Meeting
It's Keepers of the Water Annual General Meeting Time!
Keepers of the Water are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, environmental groups, concerned citizens, and communities working together to protect water, air, land, and all living things within the Arctic Ocean Drainage Basin. Keepers of the Water understand that clean, fresh water is invaluable to life and the environment. Readily available clean water is necessary for a sustainable, balanced, and just transition for the survival of all life we share this incredible planet with.
Are you interested in becoming a Keepers of the Water Board member? Do you have time and wisdom to help guide Indigenous-led water protection campaigns? Do you want to help lead the way in protecting water in the Arctic Ocean Drainage Basin?
If you would like to join the Keepers of the Water Board of Directors, we encourage you to attend the Annual General Meeting being held in Cold Lake, Alberta. Virtual attendance can be accommodated. Current serving KOW Board Members who want to join again can email Finance Director Brandon Gauchier.
If you want to learn more, join our Board of Directors, or attend virtually, please email Project Funding Coordinator Crystal Stamp-Cardinal at projects@keepersofthewater.ca.
Water is Life Legal Summit - Exploring Water Protection through an Indigenous lens
The Indigenous Knowledge Wisdom Center and Keepers of the Water have partnered to host a legal summit which looks at 'Exploring Water Protection through an Indigenous Lens'.
This event will bring together some of the most knowledgeable and thought-provoking Indigenous legal and traditional knowledge helpers from our communities to look at how the various colonial constructs have impacted our ability as Indigenous people to protect water and what needs to change to ensure water is protected for future generations.
At this summit, we will have sessions and presentations that look more closely at; UNDRIP (the varying views on this International declaration from a local lens)
Doctrine of Discovery,
The Indian Act,
Inherent Rights and Treaty rights,
The criminalization of Indigenous people,
The Canadian legal system vs. Indigenous legal systems,
Before Contact
How much Canada spends in court fighting Indigenous people
Some featured speakers are Sharon Venne, Dr. Diana Steinhauer, Eleanore Sunchild, Cody Lookinghorse, Daniel T'seleie, Eriel Deranger, Sylvia Mcadam and more to be confirmed that will be announced in the coming weeks!
SYMPOSIA: No Dumping! The Past, Present, and Future Of Tailings In Alberta; Tailings and A Just Transition
Keepers of the Water is collaborating with the Edmonton Council of Canadians Chapter to educate the public about an imminent and serious threat to the Athabasca River.
Water quality is already degrading downstream of the tar sands. While dumping might cost industry less than other tailings treatment options, it will have a dangerous impact on the water and downstream communities and ecosystems.
We are planning a series of free, public symposia from 7 – 9 pm on the following dates:
October 5: Tailings: Past and Present
October 26: Indigenous Rights, Knowledge, and Tailings
November 16: Tailings and A Just Transition
The symposia will feature speakers with knowledge of tailings technology, history, ecology, Indigenous culture, and the lived experience of communities impacted by the tailings ponds. These sessions will take place in person at the University of Alberta Telus Centre and will be broadcast on Zoom.
We hope you will join us - please mark the dates on your calendars!
SYMPOSIA: No Dumping! The Past, Present, and Future Of Tailings In Alberta; Indigenous Rights, Knowledge, and Tailings
Keepers of the Water is collaborating with the Edmonton Council of Canadians Chapter to educate the public about an imminent and serious threat to the Athabasca River.
Water quality is already degrading downstream of the tar sands. While dumping might cost industry less than other tailings treatment options, it will have a dangerous impact on the water and downstream communities and ecosystems.
We are planning a series of free, public symposia from 7 – 9 pm on the following dates:
October 5: Tailings: Past and Present
October 26: Indigenous Rights, Knowledge, and Tailings
November 16: Tailings and A Just Transition
The symposia will feature speakers with knowledge of tailings technology, history, ecology, Indigenous culture, and the lived experience of communities impacted by the tailings ponds. These sessions will take place in person at the University of Alberta Telus Centre and will be broadcast on Zoom.
We hope you will join us - please mark the dates on your calendars!
Keepers of the Water Virtual Annual General Meeting
Keepers of the Water welcomes you to attend the 2022 Annual General Meeting. If you are interested in joining Keepers of the Water Board of Directors please attend this meeting.
SYMPOSIA: No Dumping! The Past, Present, and Future Of Tailings In Alberta; Tailings: Past and Present
Keepers of the Water is collaborating with the Edmonton Council of Canadians Chapter to educate the public about an imminent and serious threat to the Athabasca River.
Water quality is already degrading downstream of the tar sands. While dumping might cost industry less than other tailings treatment options, it will have a dangerous impact on the water and downstream communities and ecosystems.
We are planning a series of free, public symposia from 7 – 9 pm on the following dates:
October 5: Tailings: Past and Present
October 26: Indigenous Rights, Knowledge, and Tailings
November 16: Tailings and A Just Transition
The symposia will feature speakers with knowledge of tailings technology, history, ecology, Indigenous culture, and the lived experience of communities impacted by the tailings ponds. These sessions will take place in person at the University of Alberta Telus Centre and will be broadcast on Zoom.
We hope you will join us - please mark the dates on your calendars!
WEBINAR: Water Knows No Boundaries - Releasing Toxic Tailings "Ponds" Won't Either
Join Keepers of the Water and Environmental Defence as we dive into the alarming findings of our recent report which mapped decades of the toxic takeover of Indigenous territories by “tailings ponds,” massive reservoirs of oilsands wastewater.
Aliénor Rougeot, Climate and Energy Manager at Environmental Defence, will be joined by our host Jesse Cardinal, Executive Director of Keepers of the Water and local Kikino Métis, panellists Jean L’Hommecourt, co-chair of Keepers of the Water and a local Denesuline woman from Fort McKay and Daniel, Outreach Manager for Keepers of the Water and K'asho Got'ine Dene from Radili Ko.
Jean will speak about her personal experience living downstream of the oil sands, allowing us to understand the harm the industry has already caused. Jesse and Daniel will discuss the dangers of the oil industry’s current attempt to release the tailings’ toxic waste into the Athabasca River.
This webinar is free and does not require any personal information beyond name and email.