'Water is life;' Grand River Water Walk raises awareness about sustainability

A group of walkers are making their way along the Grand River this week in hopes of spreading awareness about water issues and the important role the natural resource plays in everyday life.

The All Nations Grand River Water Walk, which began in Port Maitland on Sunday where the river empties into Lake Erie, passed through Cambridge on Tuesday.

It was an idea developed by Anishinaabe woman and water-activist Josephine-Baa Mandamin in the early 2000s.

Mandamin walked around all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River from 2003 to 2017, carrying a copper pail full of water and an eagle staff to shed light on the issue.

In 2017, she was joined by Mary Anne Caibaiosai, who has since taken over the lead role in the initiative after Mandamin's passing in 2019.

"We're continuing her journey," Caibaiosai, who's also Anishinaabe, said.

"When we do the walk, it’s a ceremony. So when we're carrying the water, the women carry the pail and the men carry the eagle staff. Water is life in our teaching and without water I wouldn’t be here. That applies to everyone, of course."

The walk begins each morning around 3 a.m. and continues until they're ready to stop. When they reach their destination in Dundalk, the source of the Grand River, on Sept. 20, they'll have travelled 270 kilometres.

Once the pail begins to move in the morning, it doesn't stop, with each walker taking turns carrying it. Along the way, participants feed the water with food bundles and offerings of tobacco while singing ceremonial songs and prayers.

"We are trying to keep the pail moving, we just look straight ahead," Caibaiosai said.

"It's the idea that we want water to be forever."

When Caibaiosai took over the walks in 2018, she made a significant change to how they're run. 

Originally an Indigenous ceremony, she opened it up to all nations under the idea that water is a necessity of life that everyone needs and should be appreciative of.

"We sometimes take it for granted," she said.

"We only think of water when the system goes down. We expect when the taps turn on, water comes out. Not everyone has clean water and that's one of the things we remind people of."

Caibaiosai hopes when residents see the walkers, they take time to reflect on their own behaviours and habits, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

"Its not just Anishinaabe or Indigenous people who honour water, everyone should find ways to respect it," she said.

"Pick up garbage. There’s so much garbage in the ditches and it's hard to see that. All those things go into the soil and the water. Everyone has a responsibility for it as water is disappearing."