Indigenous Perspectives on Water Security in Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract

The term “water security” continues to gain traction in water resources literature with broad application to human health, water quality, and sustainability of water supply. These western science applications focus almost exclusively on the material value of water for human uses and activities. This paper offers voice to other interpretations of water security based on semi-structured interviews with Indigenous participants representing varied backgrounds and communities from Saskatchewan, a Canadian prairie province. The results indicate that water security from an Indigenous perspective embraces much more than the material value of water. Five themes emerged from this research that speak to a more holistic framing of water security to include water as a life form, water and the spirit world, women as water-keepers, water and human ethics, and water in Indigenous culture. This broader interpretation provides a more nuanced understanding of water security, which serves to enrich the water security narrative while educating western science.

Our Relationship to Water and Experience of Water Insecurity among Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) People, Montana

“…Our findings confirm recent research on water security within other Indigenous Nations [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 55 ]. Our study also confirmed that the impacts of water insecurity are not merely conceptualized in material physical terms but are also understood in cultural and spiritual terms [ 27 , 28 ]. For many Indigenous people, water is inherently connected to our health and well-being, requiring that research on water insecurity also consider cultural values connected to water.…”

“…For many Indigenous people, water is inherently connected to our health and well-being, requiring that research on water insecurity also consider cultural values connected to water. Recently, researchers from Canada used in-depth interviews with tribal members to investigate the meaning of “water security” from an Indigenous perspective [ 28 ]. In their exploration they described a relationship where water provides for the people and in turn the people provide for it (reciprocity).…”

“…These authors outlined two perspectives: One represents material Western science and is the focus of most of the literature on water security [ 4 ], and the other, Indigenous perspective, which includes spirituality and tradition and is often missing from the literature on water insecurity. These two views need not be antagonistic and may in fact both be necessary when considering water insecurity within Indigenous communities [ 28 ].…”

“…Although a few studies have examined water insecurity in Indigenous Canadian groups [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 55 ], our study is one of the few to examine the topic of water insecurity within an Indigenous community in the US. This study broadens our understanding of the impacts of water insecurity among Apsáalooke community members, including the importance of taking spiritual and cultural impacts of water insecurity on health into account when working to elucidate how water insecurity impacts health [ 41 ].…”

“…These authors argue for a more holistic approach to understanding water insecurity, recognizing historical and political root causes, and maintaining distinct Western and Indigenous ways of understanding water [ 27 ]. Members of multiple Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, Canada similarly voice that “water security from an Indigenous perspective embraces much more than the material value of water,” and includes cultural, spiritual, and ethical aspects [ 28 ]. Mitchell [ 29 ] provides a recent review of water insecurity and Native American health, similarly concluding that “for Indigenous people, water takes on a much greater significance as it is connected to the culture, identity and livelihoods of Indigenous communities”.…”