The Keepers of the Water delegation’s attendance is to provide a traditional knowledge exchange presentation, Living Downstream of the Oil Sands: What You Need to Know About the World’s Largest Industrial Project, to the Dene Assembly chiefs, proxies, and attendees.

For Immediate Release:

Jul 18, 2022 — A delegation from the Keepers of the Water (KOW) grassroots organization will be attending the annual Dene National Assembly from July 18th to the 21st, 2022, hosted at the Wiliideh Site (Yellowknife River) in the Akaitcho Territory.

Dene National Assemblies are held annually and hosted within different communities in the five regions of Denendeh where leaders have discussions, conversations, consultations and make resolutions. These special assemblies are where Dene leaders come together lifting up their community's voices and commemorating the struggle for advancing Dene concerns while retaining Dene sovereignty.

The KOW delegation’s attendance is to provide a traditional knowledge exchange presentation, Living Downstream of the Oil Sands: What You Need to Know About the World’s Largest Industrial Project, to the Dene Assembly chiefs, proxies, and attendees. This presentation concerns Keepers of the Water’s opposition to the dumping of “treated” tailings, leftover from oil sands production, into the Athabasca River.

The potential “treated” tailings will flow through the Dene territory watershed before eventually ending up in the Arctic Ocean. It is the responsibility of KOW to ensure that all Nations within the Arctic Ocean Drainage Basin have the necessary Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (Indigenous science), as well as western science, to support advancing Indigenous Sovereignty over their territories and watersheds.

It is clear our lands and waters need protection from development. For nature to be considered equal to humans and corporations in the courts, rights must be embedded at the highest level, such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This will ensure the highest level of protection and a huge step towards reconciliation. — The Personhood for the Deh-cho (Mackenzie) River Report

Alberta's toxic tailings ponds, currently the size of Vancouver and growing daily, contain dangerous levels of mercury, arsenic and naphthenic acids, which are toxic by-products unique to the tar sands extraction industry. Even after treatment tailings remain high in salinity and naphthenic acids.

Canada has not obtained the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of downstream Dene, a legal requirement which stems from its United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which came into force in 2021. UNDRIP guarantees the Dene the opportunity to participate in state legislative and policy initiatives that will directly and negatively impact the watershed they live in and rely on.

Keepers of the Water knows through Traditional Knowledge (TK) keeping and exchange that what happens in the watershed of one Nation’s territory can and does negatively impact the watersheds and wetlands in other Nation’s territories. We will share this TK with the Chiefs, proxies, and attendees of the 2022 Dene National Assembly on Wednesday, July 20th, 2022, the time to be determined.

Keepers of the Water staff and board members will be presenting, Living Downstream of the Oil Sands: What You Need to Know About the World’s Largest Industrial Project, at an that will be open to the general public.

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For more information contact:

Jesse Cardinal - cell: 780-520-7108, email: ed@keepersofthewater.ca

Daniel T’seleie - cell: 867-444-0509, email: nwtoutreach@keepersofthewater.ca