In 1884, traditional Indigenous ceremonies such as the potlatch, ghost dance, shake tent, and sundance were banned under the 1876 Indian Act. Our people were arrested for conducting or participating in traditional ceremonies and the Canadian government forcibly took their ceremonial materials away. Our songs, prayers, sacred items, and ceremonies were hidden in order to be secretly kept alive until such a time comes for our Peoples to return to our Land and live our traditional ways in a modern world. The ban on our traditional ways remained in effect until 1951.

Keepers of the Water, Board of Directors Co-Chair, Cleo Reese

Image from page 29 of the 50 Years of Sprawling Tailings - Mapping decades of destruction by oil sands tailings report co authored by Gillian Chow-Fraser of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), and Alienor Rougeot of Environmental Defence Canada (EDC)

Vista coal mine expansion project must undergo federal impact assessment

Treated tailings from Alberta’s tar sands operations may be flowing into NWT waters as early as 2025. Tailings are a toxic, liquid by-product of bitumen extraction and upgrading. This industrial waste is stored in man-made lakes that have grown to an unfathomable size of 1.1 trillion litres.

The Keepers of the Water Newsletter is out! Check out the Spring 2022 Edition and learn more about all the work we have done so far and how you can take action to support our work!

Everyday, Water is Life!

Let’s get connected!

In our culture, we understand that no one’s role is more or less significant than another’s. On International Women’s Day, we lift up the water protection work that countless Women and Two-Spirit community members picked up on our collective reconnection journey with the land, our culture, our identities, our Ceremonies and our roles within our cosmology. We recognize and honour those who have walked before us, laying the path forward for our work to protect water and to ensure safe drinking water for Indigenous communities downstream from the toxic tar sands and tailing lakes.

Cyanotoxins have been reported as the cause of death for pets that swim in or drink contaminated surface water, leading a local activist to question what this water will do to wild animals, and the people that live year-round along this lake.

Read about what KOW has been up to over the last few moths!

Join us for this webinar on World Water Day about Indigenous knowledge on water and the history of water licensing in Alberta

This survey will help us understand Indigenous Peoples' needs and concerns when it comes to Fresh Water, with the intention of helping to create change that will help protect fresh water for now and future generations.

Join us for this webinar about Indigenous knowledge on mountains

We’re hiring for a short-term research contract position

Learn more and watch this webinar on Indigenous bear teachings

Learn more and watch this webinar on Indigenous moose teachings

People who fight to protect the environment and their communities say the province of Alberta is making a mistake by suspending environmental monitoring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.