Arctic Drainage Basin

A drainage basin is an area of land that contributes the water it receives as precipitation to a river or network of rivers. Canada has six major drainage basins: the Arctic, Pacific, Western Hudson Bay and Mississippi, South and East Hudson Bay, Great Lakes–St Lawrence and Atlantic. KOW aims to protect the Arctic Drainage Basin, which covers parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut, and connects to many rivers, including the Peace, Slave, and Athabasca rivers.

The Arctic Drainage Basin spans the territories of many Indigenous Peoples and is vital to Indigenous Peoples’ inherent rights and abilities to hunt, fish, trap, and gather medicines. 

Because of the size of the Basin and its resources, colonial governments (both provincial and federal) have taken over and identified themselves as the owners of the river. But you cannot own the Water. 

We have a responsibility to care for the Water and protect it, which these governments have not done. We look at what is impacting the Basin and the effects on all the people, plants, and wildlife that rely on it. 

KOW works with other watershed protection groups and Indigenous communities; anyone who first and foremost honors Indigenous rights and upholds the importance of protecting the Water. All of our work is guided by the declaration formed at the first Keepers of the Water gathering. You can learn more about our beginnings on this page.