United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6

Title: Microbiological quality of drinking water from First Nation communities in Manitoba and an urgent need to upgrade the water distribution system

Presenter: Dr. Ayush Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba

Title: Building Legal Relationships of Responsibility to and with Nibi (Water)

Presenter: Aimée Craft, Associate Professor and University Research Chair Nibi Miinawaa Aki Inaakonigewin: Indigenous governance in relationship with land and water, Faculty of Common Law, University of Ottawa

Title: The Eeyou Coastal Habitat Comprehensive Research Project

Presenter: Dr. Zou Zou Kuzyk, Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences and Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba

Title: The Creation of the Manitoba Métis Federation's Weather Keeper Program

Presenters: Claire Herbert, Coordinator Manitoba Great Lakes Program and Canadian Watershed Information Network, Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba and Pheonix Combe, Métis Climate Monitoring Coordinator, Energy, Infrastructure, and Resource Management, Manitoba Métis Federation - National Government of the Red River Métis

Title: The Ontology of Water

Presenter: Dr. Deborah McGregor, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, Osgood Hall Law School and Faculty of Environmental Studies and Urban Change, York University

Title: Long-term Drinking Water Advisories in Manitoba First Nations: What is Needed to Sustainably Resolve Them?

Presenters: Dr. Melanie O'Gorman, Associate Professor, University of Winnipeg, and Dr. Stewart Hill, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO)

September 26, 2022

Title: Ha Kus Téeyi (“Our Way”): Transforming water governance through Tagish and Tlingit water ways
Presenters: Dr. Nicole J. Wilson from the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba and Ghoóch Tlâ (Colleen) James from Carcross/Tagish First Nation

October 17, 2022

Title: Indigenous use of our waters for agriculture, travel and trade, and the impacts of colonialism
Presenter: Dr. Cary Miller. Associate Vice-President Indigenous, Curriculum, Scholarship, and Research, University of Manitoba

November 28, 2022

Title: Water: friend or foe? Examining the historical aquatic relationship of the Anishinabek at Lake St. Martin
Presenter: Dr. Myrle Ballard, Assistant Professor and Indigenous Scholar, Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba

January 23, 2023

Title: Microbes in the Aquatic Environment
Presenter: Dr. Miguel Uyaguari, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba

February 13, 2023

Title: History in the water: water, colonialism, and human rights in 2023
Presenter: Dr. Adele Perry, Distinguished Professor and Director, Centre for Human Rights Research, University of Manitoba

March 20, 2023

Title: Pesticides in water and wastewater – A Prairie perspective
Presenter: Dr. Annemieke Farenhorst, Associate Vice-President (Research), University of Manitoba

This side event will address the challenges of present approaches to water governance and sustainability for Indigenous peoples. It will examine the contributions of Indigenous knowledge systems as complete bodies of knowledge that include information about science, policy, law, cosmology and more. Furthermore, we will explore how best to respect Indigenous peoples and their governance systems which centre on understandings of water as a living entity.

Indigenous Peoples are critical actors in water governance and sustainability. Globally, there is a growing acknowledgement of Indigenous rights and self-determination. For instance, this is affirmed within 46 articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) (2007), such as article 25 which states:

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.

Indigenous Peoples should play a significant role in decision-making about water. Yet, these communities are underrepresented in international water policy. In this side meeting, we ask, what is needed to better engage and respect Indigenous peoples, their knowledge, and governance systems to address global water challenges? Indigenous governance, law and knowledge continue to be a major theme for decision-makers about water around the world, but Indigenous people continue to lack a voice and to be marginalized by historical and ongoing colonialism.

The UM UNAI SDG Hub working group is pleased to contribute to organizing this UN 2023 Water Conference side event with generous support from the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources, the Centre for Human Rights Research, and the Canada Research Chairs Program.  

Side-event-program-UN2023.pdf

UN 2023 Water Conference Side Event Program