The history of Indigenous peoples use of water throughout time has paralleled, and oftentimes surpassed, other "civilizations" yet you don't learn this in school. From aquaculture and mariculture across the so-called "americas", cities in lakes surrounded by floating gardens, canal systems in the Sonoran desert, and Mayan hydraulic plumbing the peoples of these lands maintained a balanced relationship with water. After all: Water Is Life! In this months issue we'll be looking at some of these water based foodways, the ongoing warfare against water itself, and some of the tribal responses to it. To quote the Water and Tribes Initiative, "forty-eight percent of tribal homes in the United States do not have access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water, or basic sanitation", and this doesn't even speak to those communities with water sources contaminated by lead, arsenic, and uranium. What are some of the stories in your communities about water? What are the challenges you face?
