Water Insecurity in Ontario First Nations: An Exploratory Study on Past Interventions and the Need for Indigenous Water Governance

Rachel Arsenault

doi:10.3390/w13050717

Abstract

In 2018, I began an exploratory study involving fourteen Ontario First Nation participants that examined some First Nation water security challenges and opportunities. In acknowledgment that many of the government assessments, reports, and investments to date have failed, this study aims to determine the causes of the water crisis as well as potential solutions by sharing Indigenous perspectives and recommendations on water governance and security. During the study, Indigenous participants were asked interview questions regarding their water and wastewater systems, their historical and current water security conditions, and if they had recommendations for achieving water security in First Nations. The analysis from these interviews demonstrated that there were ten different themes for water security and insecurity in First Nation communities as well as a set of four recommendations shared by the fourteen participants. The participant recommendations are: (1) that Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Indigenous laws be included in water security initiatives and water governance; (2) that provincial and federal governments work with Indigenous communities on their water security challenges and opportunities; (3) that First Nation leadership develops and implements community water protection plans; (4) that Indigenous communities establish an oversight committee or body for monitoring tourist ventures and extractive development projects such as mining on their territories. This paper will also discuss how an Indigenous research paradigm can be applied during the research process to ensure that the information is captured from the Indigenous perspectives of the participants.

Highlights

Scattered throughout the province of Ontario, there are 133 First Nation communities [1,2]
Since the literature concluded that the First Nation water crisis extends beyond boil water advisories, I wanted to ensure that the participants in this study had opportunities to discuss their perspectives based on their experiences and observed challenges
While a fraction of First Nation communities have benefited from the Indigenous Services Canada commitment to end all long-term boil water advisories by 2021, there are many more with short-term boil water advisories and other water insecurity challenges that have fallen through the cracks

Summary

Introduction

Scattered throughout the province of Ontario, there are 133 First Nation communities [1,2]. Indigenous researchers are accountable to all their relations, but they are accountable to their ancestors, youth, Elders, and the seven generations to come They are accountable to the Creator and to the plants and animals that depend on clean air, water, and land to live [3,5,6,7,8,9]. Indigenous research must be flexible and adaptive enough to encompass both western and Indigenous knowledges to ensure that research encapsulates Indigenous perspectives from the Indigenous participants’ frames of reference while meeting western academic criteria [4,11] Acknowledging and understanding these principles and protocols will assist researchers with establishing trust, building relationships, incorporating Indigenous worldviews, and providing meaningful results and solutions for the Indigenous peoples and communities that they conduct research with and for [12,13,14]. I will explain the ten themes that emerged from the data shared by the fourteen participants in this study and discuss their insights, community initiatives, and recommendations on achieving water security in First Nations in Ontario

Water Insecurity in Ontario First Nations

The Process of Situating Self

Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities in Ontario First Nations

An Exploratory Water Study on Ontario First Nations

Findings

Conclusions