Natives and non-Natives from across the continent journeyed to the 3-day water summit held on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Their time was spent discussing current concerns about protecting water sources as well as making plans for the future.
Mni Indigenous Water Summit spokesperson Candace Ducheneaux says tribal members from diverse backgrounds came to tell their stories about water issues.
“There were people there from Canada who are facing right now tar sands and also, people there from Fort Berthold who are facing fracking on their land,” Ducheneaux comments. “People there form Navajo who are facing, you now, water rights usurpation. So, there was people from all over who have…it’s a common story on Indigenous lands.”
Ducheneaux says the common agreement at the summit was that water must be protected from pollutants, depletion and usurpation. She says efforts must also be made to restore water to arid lands in order to reestablish proper hydrologic cycles.
The key message of the summit, says Duchenaux, was that there is hope as long as people are willing to take action to protect the water.