The Canoe Journey - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 146

disconnected since the demarcation of the Canada-U.S. border). In this case, the
performative act of paddling the waters of the Salish Sea Basin fosters multiple
connections - connections between people and the water, between Indigenous
communities, and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Literally and
metaphorically, the act of “pulling together” has helped foster unity. It has also
helped to foster healing in relation to decades of multigenerational trauma associated
with the legacy of colonization. Working together for a common cause, the
connection with, and protection of, the Salish Sea water provides a common goal
that places the water first, and minimizes the legacies of colonial constructions of
space.
The power dynamics, in which Indigenous communities lead this project for
Indigenous communities, help with goals of self-determination and governance
on terms set by the actors. For example, the partnership with USGS and other
governmental agencies helps with the healing, as it provides a shift in power, where
the Indigenous communities are not only “at the table” - they set the agenda. The
innovative partnering of USGS water quality probes and the intertribal Canoe
Journey provides a partnership in which data collected will help scientists better
understand the current state of the water. It also sensitizes the governmental agencies
involved to the wider efforts, purviews, and traditions of the Coast Salish Tribes
and First Nations. It joins the groups by engaging the participants in knowing the
water through technologies and observation.
Thus, this chapter helps to address the second and third questions posed in this
book - “How are the Indigenous-led governance mechanisms linked to the
twinned goals of ecosystem protection and processes of self-determination,
empowerment, and decolonization?” and the general question: “What makes a
good upstream neighbor?”
In this case, a “good neighbor” is one that “pulls together” for a common cause.
For the canoe to reach its goal, each of the paddlers needs to be equally prepared
and strong. The paddlers need to pull in unison, and hold a shared vision. This
lesson translates to governance, where a shared vision and equality of actors
contribute to shared goals of ecosystem protection and cultural revitalization. In
addition, “pulling together” contributes to wider, long-term goals of increased self-
determination, empowerment, and decolonization through processes of reclaiming
cultural heritage. In the next chapter, these twinned goals are further explored
through the case of Water Walkers in the Great Lakes.

Notes
1

The concept of the “Frog's Eye View” was first introduced to me by Native American
scholar and writer, David Wilkins. Wilkins attributes his use of the phrase to Gunnar
Myrdal's influential book, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy
(1944).

2 For ebook Video Clip: see http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/80 (2008).