Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation

After years of hauling water, a Treaty 3 First Nation celebrates lifting of long-term boil water advisory

After years of hauling water, a Treaty 3 First Nation celebrates lifting of long-term boil water advisory

People in a First Nation in Treaty 3 in Ontario are celebrating a key step toward clean drinking water, as they lifted a long-term boil water advisory at the beginning of December. Advisories have been in effect on-and-off in Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation since the 1990s, said Chief Clayton Wetelainen, but the most recent advisory had been in effect for more than a year. "The people [living in] residential units are glad because they're tired of hauling in water, and the [advisory] has now been lifted," Wetelainen said.

‘In our culture, water is so much more. It’s sacred.’ New wave of Indigenous operators look to tackle drinking-water woes

‘In our culture, water is so much more. It’s sacred.’ New wave of Indigenous operators look to tackle drinking-water woes

Jamie Lee Parenteau knows that water is where life originates. She knows that it must be protected in every way possible from pollution or waste. The Ojibway woman’s ancestors were able to live off the water as a resource, and to sustain all living things in their care. Yet in some First Nation communities today, water has become a curse. “In our culture, water is so much more. It’s sacred,” says Parenteau, who is from the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation. “Our people could just go to the lake for everything. That was before all these things like the (pulp) mills and mercury poisoning. Our people drink that water and got poisoned by it.” The young mother is a water protector — and she now has a licence that says so.