Denying the source

First Nations face some of the worst water crises in North America. The widespread lack of access to safe drinking water receives national media attention, yet change is painfully slow. First Nations have had little say in how their waters are, or are not, protected, as governments assert ownership of their domestic resources or deny the issue altogether. The courts have clarified that First Nations have numerous rights to land and resources, including the right to be involved in decision-making. But agriculture and industrial development all require enormous amounts of water, with negative impacts on the rivers, lakes and aquifers that are critical to First Nations. Climate change threatens to make matters even worse. This book is a call to respect the water rights of First Nations, and thus to create a new water ethic in Canada and beyond.