Ganawendan Ginibiiminaan (Take care of our Water!): mobilizing for Watersheds-at-risk with the Bad River Ojibwe

Abstract

Community-based research with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe in northern Wisconsin illustrated that Water stewardship is an organizing practice, value-laden, that brings together tribal and non-tribal people. Lead author Conaway collaborated over four years with tribal members to create a network of university, natural resource agency, and indigenous experts. Ojibwe co-author Leoso provided expertise in protocols and traditional knowledge. We worked in community Water stewardship from concept to the dissemination of durable products of which the tribe took ownership. This article focuses on methodology for outsiders working in Indian country, emphasizing indigenous research methods, and culminating in a case study of Water stewardship that incorporates Native and Western science. A local Anishinaabemowin version of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is highlighted: mino bimaadiziwin , “living in a good way.” Interviews with Bad River adults and Talking Circles with youth indicated that Ojibwe identity and value systems are bound to Water, shedding light on intangible dimensions of TEK. Water-based harvests, stewardship, sovereignty, and worldviews constitute an Ojibwe Water schema, Water TEK. We demonstrate that the vulnerability and resilience of Water and cultural traditions are intertwined.

Keywords

• anishinaabe
• bad river ojibwe
• bad river watershed
• lake superior basin
• mino bimaadiziwin
• native science
• traditional ecological knowledge
• water stewardship
• water tek