A First Nations elder who has “walked the equivalent of half the earth’s circumference” to build awareness about pollution, laws, fracking, and the selling of the water, is being honoured today in Toronto. Josephine Mandamin received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation at a ceremony held at Queen’s Park.
“She takes care of the Lifeblood of Mother Earth – water.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee said Mandamin, who hails from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory [also known as Wikwemikong First Nation], has walked the shorelines of five Great Lakes as well as in all four directions of Turtle Island. “She takes care of the Lifeblood of Mother Earth – water.” Mandamin herself said she “will go to any lengths to and direction to carry the water to the people.” “As women, we are carriers of the water. We carry life for the people,” she stated in a news release. “So when we carry that water, we are telling people that we will go any lengths for the water. We’ll probably even give our lives for the water if we have to.” Mandamin is one of seven recipients of the award for volunteer contributions to the […]
Full article: Ojibwe Grandmother has walked 17,000 km to raise consciousness about water
Update: Remembering Grandmother Josephine
More about: Anishinabek Nation and the Great Lakes
- Mayors, Anishinabek Nation Call for Stricter Rules in Great Lakes Withdrawals
- Blue Water Bridge a potential crossing for U.S.-bound liquid nuclear waste
- The great siphoning: Drought-stricken areas eye the Great Lakes
- Controversial insecticides pervasive in Great Lakes tributaries
- Antidepressants found in fish brains in Great Lakes region
More about: Native Americans, First Nations, and treaty rights
Water Warriors and Other People Stories
- 13-Year-Old Indigenous Girl Nominated for Global Peace Prize
- 11-Year-Old Just Developed New Sensor to Detect Lead in Tap Water
- Man using technology to improve water usage in farming
- The Curse of Plastic Ocean Waste Now Part of the Cure
- Meet the teenager who solved his First Nation’s drinking water problems
- Ojibwe Grandmother has walked 17,000 km to raise consciousness about water