A Look at Issues Related to Water Common Among Indigenous Peoples of North America

For Indigenous Communities across North America water is not only for sustenance, it is also sacred. Thus, one of the largest present-day problems that Indigenous communities throughout North America are facing is access to clean and safe water resources. There are many issues related to water which are common to many of these often remote communities. Many issues involve place, culture, and nation to nation policy related to colonialism and reconciliation. These issues are amplified with climate change, which is severely impacting water supplies from the Arctic to the desert southwest. Increased flooding, wildfires, extreme drought, and changes in sea ice impact many communities. Arctic regions are impacted by rapidly thawing permafrost and coastal erosion which sometimes forces migration from traditional homelands and disrupts the hydrologic cycle for the environments these communities are living. Environmental pollution is disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities because it contaminates foods and resources, which they depend on ultimately affecting health of not only individuals but whole cultures. There are many point source examples such as contamination of rivers, lakes and groundwater by industrial pollutants, pesticides, firefighting foams ( with PFAs), and mining and milling operations. Non-point examples include agricultural runoff and atmospheric contamination such as mercury, persistent organic pollutants (POP’s) and possibly microplastics and biofilms attached to these which may contaminate the water supply and traditional foods.