Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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 community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Concordia University's Institute of Investigative Journalism

Why many in Canada’s First Nations still don’t have clean drinking water

Why many in Canada’s First Nations still don’t have clean drinking water

It’s 2021 and many people in Canada’s First Nations still do not have clean drinking water. The startling fact is laid bare in “Clean Water, Broken Promises,” an extensive report from Concordia University’s Institute of Investigative Journalism which brought together 70 students from 10 universities, professional journalists from six news outlets across Canada for two years of extensive reporting in a collaborative investigation. Two of the key members of the investigative team join “This Matters” to discuss the toll of the water crisis on generations of First Nations communities.

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.

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