People Stories

Ojibwe Grandmother has walked 17,000 km to raise consciousness about water

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 […]

Update: Remembering Grandmother Josephine

More about: Anishinabek Nation and the Great Lakes

More about: Native Americans, First Nations, and treaty rights

Water Warriors and Other People Stories

Recent Posts

Scathing report released detailing Navy’s handling of Red Hill fuel spill

The Inspector General of the Department of Defense released some scathing reports Thursday over the…

6 days ago

Growing Food Instead of Grass Lawns in California Front Yards

Photo: Morgan Boone, a volunteer with Crop Swap LA, harvested lettuce at the La Salle…

2 weeks ago

LA River restoration connects us back to ‘the life force of our city’

Los Angeles residents at a section of the Los Angeles River cleanup in Los Angeles,…

3 weeks ago

LAist: New study raises questions about heavy metals in fire retardants

Over the past decade, about 67 million gallons of fire retardant have been dropped on…

3 weeks ago

Meadow and watershed restoration in the Golden Trout Wilderness

Photo: Golden Trout Wilderness Seeking blue, seeing gold The Kern Plateau features a chain of…

3 weeks ago

First sighting of salmon in 100 years marks key milestone for California dam removal

For the first time in more than a century, a salmon was observed swimming through Klamath…

4 weeks ago