Nibi Emosaawdamajig

Brenda Wall

I chose this theme to celebrate water and in particular, to honour Indigenous women who have led the sacred water walks in Ontario and elsewhere. Grandmother Josephine Mandamin began these ceremonial walks in 2003 and walked close to 20,000 kilometres around all five of the Great Lakes to raise awareness of the need to protect water and encourage humanity to rekindle its sacred relationship with water. Josephine explained that “in ceremony, such as a water walk, only women carry the water, indicating that women are caretakers of water, and carry life within themselves.” For the Anishinaabe, water is associated with Mother Earth and it is the responsibility of the grandmothers to lead other women in protecting the water, according to Josephine.

In ceremony, first the women offer tobacco to Nibi (water) and the water spirits. Next, the women spill some water from a copper pail into the lake and add some lake water to the pail. When the water walk is completed, all water in the pail is returned to the lake. Copper is said to clean, heal and amplify prayers for water.

Sadly Josephine passed away in February 2019 but her great-niece, Autumn Peltier has come forward as another leader. Since 2015 this young woman has been petitioning the Canadian government for safe drinking water for Indigenous communities in Canada. In 2018 at the United Nations World Water Day celebrations, 14-year-old Autumn called on all countries to “warrior up” in the fight for clean water for Indigenous peoples.

Closer to home, local Indigenous women in the Kawarthas began organizing NibiEmosaawdamajig in 2010. Elder Shirley Williams originally came from Wikwemikong Reserve on Manitoulin Island, completed a Masters in Environmental Science and became a Professor Emeritus at Trent University. Shirley and others started the Kawartha water walks around Rice Lake in 2010 and have held walks around lakes in the region every year since. This year, 2020, the water walk around Pigeon Lake has been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.

When we discussed our quilt and chose our themes, I had no idea of how difficult the process of making my quilt block would be. I knew I wanted to honour the Indigenous women who have led the water walks and so I set about drawing a rough image of a water droplet and a woman gathering water beside a body of water. I searched and finally found a design by EmmBriArt which seemed to capture the beauty of water. The designer gave me free reign to adapt her design because of our Indigenous support work. It took me a long time to embroider but it also allowed me to reflect and change my thinking as I went along – a very worthwhile process.

In honouring the women water walkers, I wanted to include a red dress but chose instead a red blouse representing and remembering the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. For the long skirt traditionally worn by women taking part in ceremony, I decided to use the colours of the Four Directions teachings (red, black, yellow and white). I wanted to capture water as life, as living, so I included another idea of embroidery threads falling out of my image. As I began working on a copper pail, it turned into something resembling a copper pot or earthenware pot instead. This reminded me of Indigenous women in Latin America or Africa so I left it there as a reminder that the scarcity of fresh, clean water is international. The inclusion of rocks in the foreground brought to mind the Petroglyphs – the Teaching Rocks. The final moment of awareness as I complete my piece is the interconnectedness of all of our squares and themes. Water is Life and is connected to all living things and brings us natural beauty as well as sustaining our lives. As I embroider, we are living under lockdown during COVID-19. This has highlighted the vital importance of clean water to prevent the spread of this devastating pandemic. Living under lockdown also forces me to think about my own privilege.

I have worked for unions and social justice and in my work have fought against the privatization of water in Canada and have recognized water as a human right. As well, I have been part of the Boycott Nestlé campaign, supported the struggle for clean water at Grassy Narrows after years of mercury poisoning and have been part of the Council of Canadians campaigns on Water. Their call to immediately provide clean water to over 100 First Nations communities currently affected by Drinking Water Advisories and to give greater control by and for First Nations over water is seen as a basic step towards Reconciliation. However, it was not until I became part of Indigenous support work that I began to understand the crucial role played by Indigenous women in this struggle to protect our water and the spirituality of water as honoured in ceremony.

As part of TRC-Bobaygeon, I have participated with Elder Shirley Williams and others in the Kawartha regional Water Walks (Nibi Emosaawdamajig) in recent years. Curve Lake First Nation Elder Dorothy Taylor has assisted us in educating local Bobcaygeon Public School students about the sacred water walks. Following Dorothy’s teachings, these students organized a special Water Walk around the waterways of Bobcaygeon in the Spring of 2019.

Finally, my block is to remind us that the forces of colonization and resultant genocide have worked to diminish the role of Indigenous women as keepers of the water. I hope it reflects a respect for traditional knowledge holders in raising awareness about the importance of water. In the words of Elder Shirley Williams, “Water is a relative, water is alive. People have a responsibility to care for the water. These are some of the teachings that have been forgotten because of oppression and assimilation.”

Miigwetch to Shirley and Dorothy and others who walk for the water.