Water

1. Water First Nations & Métis Grade 8 – SK Curriculum Earth & Space Science- Water Systems By: Lori Slater

2. Traditional Knowledge • First Nations have a strong spiritual connection with water. Water is considered living and must be respected.

3. Traditional Knowledge • Elders give their knowledge through stories told to the children: • Water is sacred; • Water is given to us by Mother Earth; • The respect we give to Mother Earth is to not pollute or waste the waters.

4. Traditional Knowledge • First Nations peoples have a variety of cultural and social practices that involve water: • Places of prayer; • Bathing; • Oral stories; • Purification ceremonies; • Medicine making.

5. Traditional Knowledge • First Nations Fishing; • First Nations people harvested the fish resources of SK long before European influence and in the forested areas of the Province, fish were a major contributor to sustaining life.

6. First Nations & Métis • First Nations peoples harvest: • Lake trout, walleye, northern pike, suckers, perch, whitefish, and Arctic grayling were some of the species commonly utilized. • Respect for nature, life and its offerings were strongly emphasized at the time of these traditional practices and still are today.

7. First Nations and Métis • Traditional Fishing Practices: • birch bark canoes • spears • snares attached to poles • fish traps All were methods used to harvest fish from the surrounding waters.

8. First Nations & Métis • Fish were preserved by freezing in the winter. • Drying or Smoking in the summer.

9. First Nations & Métis • Fishing Practices: • Gill net fishing: • Gill nets are walls of netting which may be set at or below the surface, on the waterway, or at any depth in between. Gill netting is probably the oldest form of net fishing, having been in use for thousands of years by First Nation Peoples.

10. Gill Net Fishing • True gill nets catch fish that attempt to swim through the net, which are caught if they are of a size large enough to allow the head to pass through the meshes but not the rest of the body. • The fish then becomes entangled by the gills as it attempts to back out of the net. The mesh size used depends upon the species and size range being targeted.

11. Northern Saskatchewan First Nations • Northern SK communities such as Black Lake, Hatchet Lake and Fond du Lac First Nations: • Fish are still a major staple in the diet. • Some of the traditional fishing methods are still used along with modern fishing equipment and techniques.

12. First Nations & Métis • Treaty Rights & Fishing: • “The legal recognition of Aboriginal rights to fish and hunt has a long-standing history in Canada.” “These rights are protected in the Canadian Constitution and are given priority in resource allocation over all other uses. Only valid conservation concerns can be given priority over these rights.”

13. First Nations & Métis Fishing Rights • “The application of Métis Aboriginal rights to fish and hunt for food in Saskatchewan is evolving and still unclear.” Métis rights are not the same as the universal rights held by First Nations Peoples under the Treaty Rights. The government does require a First Nations and Métis peoples to buy a fishing license to fish a ‘stocked lake’.

14. First Nations & Métis Aquatic plants Many of the water plants were eaten raw in salads; water celery, lemon grass, duckweed and mint.

15. First Nations uses for Cattails • Food: The roots may be ground into a flour. The sticky sap between the leaves is an excellent starch and can be used to thicken soups and broths. • The white colored shoots at the base of the leaf clusters can be boiled or steamed or sliced and eaten raw in salads. • Medicine: Pollen was placed directly on cut to control bleeding. Also, taken internally for internal bleeding, menstrual pain, or chest pains.

16. Aquatic plants First Nations uses: • Arrowhead – tuber similar to a potato that could be picked and boiled and eaten as a vegetable. • Water Lily – leaves boiled and used as a gargle for sore throats or drank for treatment of diarrhea.

17. Aquatic Plants • Water Hemlock: Toxic plant – VERY POISONOUS ROOTS a marble size portion of the fleshy root is enough to kill an animal or a human. • root contains cicutoxin

18. First Nations & Métis • Wildlife • Moose Hunting: • Moose can live on pine needles and bark but prefer grasses and aquatic plants such a lily pads and skunk cabbage. It is very common to see Moose along the shores of rivers and lakes. During a fishing trip to Black Lake the First Nation guide told stories of hunting moose while fishing because they see the Moose over and over again during the summer along the shorelines. The moose is shot and then it is tied by the horns to the back of the boat and hauled back to town through the water. All parts of the moose are used: meat, fur, horns, organs etc.

19. Transportation • The Saskatchewan River with its ease of access and navigation from Lake Winnipeg became the primary gateway to the rich fur-bearing regions beyond. • In addition, the Saskatchewan River provided access to other important navigable rivers in northern Saskatchewan; i.e., the Churchill River system as well as the Clearwater River which provided access to the Lake Athabasca basin.

20. Drainage basin picture Final drainage Into the Hudson Bay

21. Forces that shape the landscape - Rivers • South Saskatchewan River – Saskatoon Weir • Major River in Canada • 1392km long • Drainage to Hudson Bay • South Saskatchewan kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, Cree for Swift flowing river

22. Forces that shape the landscape - Rivers • Pelican riding the Weir in Saskatoon

23. Forces that shape the landscape – Lakes & Creeks • Water forces that shape the landscape • Lakes and Rivers cover approx 12% of SK • 62 Lakes in SK (official size) if count the smaller lakes over 100,000 • Creeks in SK • 12 official size creeks plus many smaller creeks

24. Water Quality • Pollution of water-bodies and the effects on First Nations Peoples. • Waters are sacred; • Waters are a food source; • Waters are a way of life, transportation; • Drinking water on the First Nation.

25. First Nations & Métis • Water Quality • FN news release VC Whitefish re: FN that have to boil their water – May 28, 2010: • “There are 114 First Nation communities across Canada under drinking water advisories. In Saskatchewan there are boil water advisories on 12 First Nation communities.”

26. Water Quality • Pollution in SK waters: • One example is the Pipestone Creek water pollution in 1995 from the town of Kelvington dumping sewage into the creek. This directly affected the First Nation of Yellow Quill which attains some of their water from the creek during periods in the spring when the creek flows. • The First Nation of Yellow Quill had poor water quality as well as many forms of bacteria that could have caused serious health risks.

27. Traditional Knowledge • Water treatment plants First Nations • Yellow Quill FN: • 1995 boil-water advisory due to poor surface water source • Fall of 2003 • A state of the art facility that uses no chemicals, the bio-membrane process uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to remove the contaminants from the water. The Yellow Quill First Nation bio-membrane water treatment plant in Saskatchewan is the first of its kind in Canada.

28. Sources: • Saskatchewan First Nations Elders • www.environment.gov.sk.ca • www.wikimapia.org • www.wikipedia.org • www.fishonline.org • http://www.npss.sk.ca • www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca • www.safewater.org

29. Lori Slater B.Sc. Biology, BEd. Senior Science • Program Coordinator – Science