Vision, Mission and Mandate

Vision

Water is life. We embody water. Water is a sacred gift. Love, honour, and respect for water are essential to human existence. We honour the life-giving Waters and the Lands we are genetically connected to. We share a vision of unity based on Elders’ guidance, ceremonies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the natural laws that govern all life. 

Keepers of the Water values clean water in clean environments in clean biospheres. Through our land-based community connections, Indigenous Peoples worldwide can and will help lead the way to a sustainable and just future for generations to come. No matter who you are, each of us is born from the water before we ever breathe our first breath of air. It is up to each of us to keep the water for those yet to come. We must all be Keepers of the Water.

Mission

Water is Sacred. Keepers of the Water continues to protect the land and water by exercising Indigenous sovereignty and applying the Spirit and intent of Treaty.

Keepers of the Water speaks up for the voices that cannot be heard, which includes the rivers, creeks, watersheds, and all those that depend on it for life.

Keepers of the Water will protect and share the traditional knowledge from our land and ensure we can all come together in one heart and one mind.

Mandate

The Keepers of Water mandate is to elevate decolonized traditional Indigenous water governance. This is done by emphasizing Indigenous land-based knowledge, language and culture. KOW challenges the colonial narrative by critically analyzing the past and present practices in education, research and policy development.

KOW brings networks of people together and delivers an accessible annual gathering. We share information in order to empower communities to understand the sacredness of water and have the tools to move forward with hope.

LGBTQIA2S+

LGBTQIA2S+ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, and the countless affirmative ways in which people choose to self-identify. We acknowledge and recognize that we must support each other with kindness and love as we challenge the world to stand against racism and oppression.