Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox
The condition of water safety and quality on reserve has been a growing concern in Canada. Despite a substantial amount of funding allocated toward improving water infrastructure on reserve, an alarming proportion of communities face boil and drinking water advisories. To understand why this paradox...
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ftunivwontaojs:oai:ojs.uwo.ca:article/7377 2023-05-15T16:15:55+02:00 Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox White, Jerry P. Murphy, Laura Spence, Nicholas 2012-10-12 application/pdf https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377 eng eng Western University https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377/6021 https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377 Copyright (c) 2012 Jerry P. White, Laura Murphy, Nicholas Spence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 CC-BY-NC-ND The International Indigenous Policy Journal; Vol. 3 No. 3 (2012): Water and Indigenous Peoples International Indigenous Policy Journal; Vol. 3 No. 3 (2012): Water and Indigenous Peoples 1916-5781 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion review-article 2012 ftunivwontaojs 2023-02-05T19:15:42Z The condition of water safety and quality on reserve has been a growing concern in Canada. Despite a substantial amount of funding allocated toward improving water infrastructure on reserve, an alarming proportion of communities face boil and drinking water advisories. To understand why this paradox and problem persists, this article will work through the issues and nuances that have created unsafe drinking water on reserve, proposed remedies, and policy implications. To do so, the role of the Government of Canada is reviewed first because reserve land is under federal jurisdiction. Following this, the article will discuss the standpoints of the Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous groups on the water crisis, and will draw upon focus groups within First Nations that we conducted. To contextualize the water issue on reserve in Canada, a comparison with the United States is then drawn. One of the main themes of this paper with regard to the issue of safe drinking water on reserve is how the legacy of colonization has limited community capacity. This theme is then discussed in depth by comparing Indigenous to non-Indigenous communities, looking to the social determinants of water quality, and possibilities and limitations of building sustainable development allowing for safe drinking water on reserve. To understand what processes consistently intervene in the way of sustainability of safe water in Indigenous communities, regulatory frameworks are examined, funding mechanisms are reviewed, and Aboriginal governance is discussed along with the direction that policy should take. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Western Libraries OJS Canada International Indigenous Policy Journal 3 3 |
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The condition of water safety and quality on reserve has been a growing concern in Canada. Despite a substantial amount of funding allocated toward improving water infrastructure on reserve, an alarming proportion of communities face boil and drinking water advisories. To understand why this paradox and problem persists, this article will work through the issues and nuances that have created unsafe drinking water on reserve, proposed remedies, and policy implications. To do so, the role of the Government of Canada is reviewed first because reserve land is under federal jurisdiction. Following this, the article will discuss the standpoints of the Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous groups on the water crisis, and will draw upon focus groups within First Nations that we conducted. To contextualize the water issue on reserve in Canada, a comparison with the United States is then drawn. One of the main themes of this paper with regard to the issue of safe drinking water on reserve is how the legacy of colonization has limited community capacity. This theme is then discussed in depth by comparing Indigenous to non-Indigenous communities, looking to the social determinants of water quality, and possibilities and limitations of building sustainable development allowing for safe drinking water on reserve. To understand what processes consistently intervene in the way of sustainability of safe water in Indigenous communities, regulatory frameworks are examined, funding mechanisms are reviewed, and Aboriginal governance is discussed along with the direction that policy should take. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
White, Jerry P. Murphy, Laura Spence, Nicholas |
spellingShingle |
White, Jerry P. Murphy, Laura Spence, Nicholas Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
author_facet |
White, Jerry P. Murphy, Laura Spence, Nicholas |
author_sort |
White, Jerry P. |
title |
Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
title_short |
Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
title_full |
Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
title_fullStr |
Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox |
title_sort |
water and indigenous peoples: canada’s paradox |
publisher |
Western University |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
The International Indigenous Policy Journal; Vol. 3 No. 3 (2012): Water and Indigenous Peoples International Indigenous Policy Journal; Vol. 3 No. 3 (2012): Water and Indigenous Peoples 1916-5781 |
op_relation |
https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377/6021 https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7377 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2012 Jerry P. White, Laura Murphy, Nicholas Spence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
container_title |
International Indigenous Policy Journal |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1766001792860028928 |