About Us
Decolonizing Water is an Indigenous-led partnership committed to enhancing the protection of water and Indigenous water governance. We engage in community-led research on water, including its ecological, socio-economic, cultural and spiritual dimensions.
For us, lands and water are not only sites of learning, but are also actively involved in the process of education.
Our Team
Decolonizing Water is built on relationships and our strength is in our team. We are co-led by two co-leads, Aimée Craft and Deborah McGregor, who have extensive knowledge and experience in water law, Indigenous governance, and community-based research.
An all-Indigenous Council made up of five members, each bring unique knowledge and community ties to the project. Our Advisory Council brings together the voices of youth and Elders from different communities to guide our work.
We are also supported by a network of employees and students who contribute research and technical skills.
Community Engaged Research
Decolonizing Water approaches Indigenous community engaged and directed research by rooting our relationships in four core values: respect, responsibility, reciprocity and relevance. Through land-based learning, we seek to decolonize research and our relationships with the lands and waters.
Our project team uses the Ownership-Control-Access-Possession (OCAP) protocol.
Our community partners retain control of the information they share with us, and we follow their prescribed protocols for access and possession.
Resources
Our team has published a number of academic papers, journal articles, conference proceedings, videos, and books that share our research. Led by our Council, we are planning to publish a book summarizing the work undertaken throughout the lifetime of Decolonizing Water grant.
In addition to written publications, we produce a variety of audiovisual resources to share our work. Our goal in producing audiovisual content is to make the knowledge shared through Decolonizing Water as accessible as possible
Get Involved
Relationships are the foundation of Decolonizing Water. Please contact us if you are interested in building a partnership or learning more about our work.