This Anishinaabe ceremony calls for perseverance in connecting with the water, giving hope for healing the polluted water of Hamilton Harbour

The Hamilton Water Walk is a four-year Anishinaabe ceremony that inspires participants to connect with a body of water, in this case the Hamilton Harbour and Cootes Paradise. Once a year during the cycle, a multi-day walk around the body of water begins at daybreak and concludes when the whole of the body of water have been encircled.

This year, the Hamilton Water Walk completed its second cycle on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13. Throughout the two days, a sacred fire was kept ablaze at Princess Point while participants walked around the perimeter of the harbour. To commemorate the end of the ceremony, a feast was held at Princess Point.

The water walk ceremony was developed by Josephine Mandamin in 2003 for the Great Lakes. Mandamin, an Anishinaabe elder, was a water activist famous for walking around the entirety of the Great Lakes starting from the Wikwemikong First Nation in Ontario.

Danielle Boissoneau, who has had the teachings of Mandamin passed to her, is a McMaster alumna and an organizer of the Hamilton Water Walk. She cites the connection that Indigenous women have with the water as a motivation for the ceremony. "Indigenous women, particularly, have a very close relationship with the land and the water in terms of observation and relationships and experiences," said Boissoneau.

Indigenous women, particularly, have a very close relationship with the land and the water in terms of observation and relationships and experiences.

Danielle Boissoneau, organizer
Hamilton Water Walk

The first cycle of the annual water walk around Hamilton Harbour began in 2017. Boissoneau explained how the walk came to be in Hamilton with her fellow activist Kristen Villebrun. "Kristen was able to determine that something was wrong with the water in the harbor because of the amount of human waste that she was seeing on the shorelines," said Boissoneau.

Boissoneau shared that she and Villebrun wanted a way to draw attention to this issue that would disrupt people's everyday lives. "Historically that would have been through protests, rallies or marches and at that point in time Grandma Josephine Mandamin started to do water walks, she inspired me so greatly because she was so peaceful, so determined, but she was still making such a huge presence," said Boissoneau.

The second cycle was initiated in response to information about the water quality of Hamilton Harbour that was reported by a 2019 article by The Hamilton Spectator. The piece exposed a four-year cover up of 24 billion litres of human waste being leaked into Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise over that period of time. This news incited Boissoneau and the other organizers to begin the second water walk, this time around Cootes Paradise in addition to the Hamilton Harbour.

Boissoneau outlined her frustration with the increased development around the harbour and its effect on the ceremony. "There's not much to see and be grateful for because of the amount of destruction and the industry. Around Burlington side, you just see country clubs and golf courses. Both of these things stand in the way of us getting close to the water, and our ability to maintain our focus, a huge part of our ceremony," said Boissoneau.

There's not much to see and be grateful for because of the amount of destruction and the industry. Around Burlington side, you just see country clubs and golf courses. Both of these things stand in the way of us getting close to the water, and our ability to maintain our focus, a huge part of our ceremony.

Danielle Boissoneau, organizer
Hamilton Water Walk

Boissoneau added that the water walks and their work are not complete. "The situation in the harbour is not getting better, there's still sewage being leaked, especially when it rains a lot. I don't believe that the wastewater system that Hamilton has is equipped to deal with the population or the industry that it currently has," said Boissoneau.

Boissoneau encourages anyone to make a connection with the water and give offerings through one's presence. "It doesn't need to be this gigantic ceremony for you to go down and make a relationship with the water and make your own offerings for the water. Just let the water know that you're there," said Boissoneau.

 It doesn't need to be this gigantic ceremony for you to go down and make a relationship with the water and make your own offerings for the water. Just let the water know that you're there.

Danielle Boissoneau, organizer
Hamilton Water Walk

The importance of making a personal, individual connection with the water was emphasized by Boissoneau. She emphasized that the work is not finished and that a third cycle of water walks is likely.

Living next to the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, it’s easy to take water for granted; it’s ever-present, and the idea of water scarcity or extreme weather is a distant notion.

But while McMaster Water Week may have come and gone, the take home message has been clear: water is the world’s most valuable resource, and the global water crisis takes many forms, both globally and locally.

From Oct. 6 to 10, McMaster was home to a number of dignitaries and guests in order to raise awareness and understanding of the broad influence that water has as a resource. Hosted by the McMaster Water Network, events such as panels, discussions, and workshops were all held throughout the week facilitating discussion on the primary concerns with water in the world, moving forward.

“The goal of McMaster Water Week is part of a broader initiative to build a network of researchers, students, and partners in the community - where community is defined both locally and globally, who are working together to address the challenges associated with the global water crisis,” said Dustin Garrick, Philomathia Professor in Water Policy and Research and head organizer of the week-long events.

Garrick, who officially joined McMaster University last January from the University of Oxford, has been involved water policy work for the past twelve years.

What Garrick stresses is that water is linked to a number of global issues, whether it’s with climate change adaptation, public health, or water and development.

“The issues that are relevant in a given place are different; it could be flooding and pollution here, or water scarcity and environmental collapse in another area,” Garrick said.

“To solve these types of problems, you need to bring together different disciplines. You may have specialized training in health sciences, public health, which addresses one component of the problem, and specialized training in public policy, another component of the problem; and even beyond that you can bring in engineering, natural sciences, in understanding the challenges around water.”

The importance of student involvement, as well as the variety of skills obtained from different disciplines, was something that Garrick hoped to convey throughout the week. Students, in addition to helping organize the events, showcased 56 project posters in the MUSC atrium during the week, with the opportunity to share their research relating to water.

In total, over 700 people were counted among the attendance during the week, which comes to around 400 unique people when accounting for attending multiple events. But while the week’s events were a success, Garrick is more interested in what can happen beyond the event.

“The most important thing is that these events would benefit the students, and would give students the opportunity to become the next generation of water leaders, who are going to require the kind of interdisciplinary skills that we’re discussing,” he said.

“The focus now is using this as a foundation; it’s a beginning point, not an endpoint, and we have a number of plans to continue it.”