The Water Awareness Walks in the Kawarthas are the vision of Elder Shirley Williams and Liz Osawamick, who have shared Traditional Anishinaabe Water Teachings to the Peterborough community at large. After the first Water Walk in 2010, the group “Nibi Emosaawdamajig – Those Who Walk for the Water” was formed. We are a group of women and men from Peterborough and the Kawarthas who are committed to sharing these Water Teachings with our community through annual Water Walks on Mother’s Day in May.
Historically, the Kawartha Lakes waterways are the traditional home and territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabe Nation. Anishinaabeg believe all Creation is interconnected. The Elders teach us that our actions today will affect the next seven generations to come. In response, we have come together to braid ceremony, spirit, and community to awaken stakeholders to the urgency of maintaining clean water for us now in the present time and for our children in the future. Mother's Day weekend in May is a symbolic date for the Water Awareness Walks. As we celebrate our mothers and grandmothers, we also remember and honour our Earth Mother and her life-giving Nibi (Sacred Water) that nourishes and sustains all Creation.
