BOOK LAUNCH: Indigenous Waterviews

This event welcomes Elders, artists, educators, water walkers, and community members. It is a space to celebrate water, honour our shared responsibilities, and uplift Indigenous knowledge.

About the Anthology

Indigenous Waterviews: Song, Story, and Protocol for Water Ethics brings together diverse Indigenous authors grounded in ceremony, governance, and ancestral teachings. The collection centres water as a being with spirit, agency, and memory. As one passage reflects:

“Water is the first medicine, the first sound we hear in the womb, and the first teaching of how to care for life.”

Another contributor writes:
“When we speak to the water, she remembers us. When we care for her, she cares for our future generations.”

The anthology is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Nookomis Beedaasige-iban, Josephine Mandamin, whose water walks around the Great Lakes continue to shape and inspire global water ethics.

“Her footsteps ripple through all waters,” the book reads, “reminding us that every act for water is an act for future generations.”

Her teachings and example are foundational to this work.

A Teaching From Site 41 – Water That Travels the World

We also carry forward the teachings of water through our ongoing efforts connected to Site 41 in Tiny Township, Ontario, which Dr. William Shotyk has tested and documented as some of the cleanest water in the world. Since 2009, my family—the Monague Family of Christian Island—has worked to send this water to Indigenous communities and movements across the globe in love, prayer, and solidarity.

This water has travelled with Indigenous Peoples during Indigenous Liberation Walks in South Africa, and has been carried to Mauna Kea in Hawai‘i, as well as through India, Nepal, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. I have also personally taken this water to the Lenca community in Honduras. We send this water to support Indigenous Peoples who are standing up to protect the earth, the waters, and their rights.

In the spirit of this work, the Site 41 water will next travel to Colombia with Dr. Juan Sánchez, who will carry our love and prayers—held by the water—to various Indigenous communities. At the in-person book launch, those who wish to pray with the water will have the opportunity to do so in a good way.

Featured Indigenous Voices

We uplift Indigenous contributions with deep gratitude, including:

• Elder Mona Polacca (Hopi/Tewa/Havasupai) – International Leader in Indigenous Water Governance

• Dr. Darlene Sanderson (Cree/Euro-Anishinaabe) – Scholar of Indigenous Water Ethics
• Renee Gurneau (Anishinaabe) – Knowledge Keeper
• Vicki M. R. Monague (Anishinaabe) - Educator and activist

These voices bring forward Indigenous thought, teachings, water memory, women’s roles in water care, and the responsibilities of the next generations.

A Gift for Your Community

Through the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Indigenous Environmental Network, we are pleased to offer both the eBook and printed copies of the anthology as gifts.

If your community, school, youth program, or organization would like free printed copies, please complete our short request form:

 Book Request Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVo3p178YeZIRybRySxlBOOZSaVBtSYRCHJums5LaENuE6GQ/viewform

Honouring Your Work

Our website uplifts frontline water protection groups under “Indigenous Water Defense.”
With your permission, we would like to include your organization’s website in this list:
https://indigenous-message.org/protecting-water/

Please let us know if this is okay.

Share Your Stories With Us. We welcome:

• photos from the launch
• community responses to the book
• teachings shared with youth and Elders
• reflections or community stories
• interest in hosting readings, teachings, or talks

Your voice strengthens this global network of Indigenous water protectors.

We Hope You Will Join Us

This book launch is not simply an academic event— it is a gathering of nations, a celebration of water, and an offering for all our communities.Your presence would mean a great deal to us. Please share this invitation widely across your community networks. If you have any questions or wish to coordinate a community reading, please contact our project director:

Dr. Juan Sánchez-Martínez
jsanch13@lakeheadu.ca

Miigwech for your time, your leadership, and your ongoing work for the water.