Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Indigenous scholars spoke of the need for water to be better protected and appreciated in an online symposium about the natural resource Friday. During a three-hour virtual discussion, hosted by the University of Windsor's Indigenous Legal Orders Institute and Windsor Law, Indigenous community members shared their relationship with water and the ongoing fight to keep it clean. In Anishnaabe tradition, women have held the primary caretaking role in looking after water and protecting it.
