Walking Gichigami - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 159

can. This relocates the power and responsibility from someone else , somewhere else
to the self. This shift fosters empowerment and self-determination, which is part
of the wider goals of wellness and healing. Although extraterritorial pollution
remains an issue, and governance structures certainly need to address all people
equally, the relocation of responsibility to the self, to the individual, is a sustainable
strategy, which ultimately makes the question of “what makes a good upstream
neighbor” directly related to taking responsibility within your own self, and your
own basin. It also means knowing your waterway, connecting with your envir-
onment. This approach is also seen in the Canoe Journey described in Chapter 7.
Ideally, if everyone took the time to really know their waterways (and their
neighbors), many of the issues associated with extraterritorial pollutants would be
resolved. Clearly, the need for international governance mechanisms, accountability,
and enforceable rules and regulations remains paramount, but working towards
inter-basin accountability and connectedness to waterways is a good place to start.
Mechanisms such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Binational Lake
Superior Forum, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Council, and the Coast Salish
Gathering each play an important role in the transboundary water issues. However,
within that mix, the role of the individual should not be lost. The Water Walkers
serve as a good reminder for this.
In the next chapter, the penultimate for the topic, a charismatic whale named
Luna, or Tsu-xiit , upsets the notions of borders and water governance that other
chapters in this topic have grappled with. Luna/ Tsu-xiit serves as a reminder of
the need for greater nuance in our water governance practices. The story, like the
ones presented before it, continues to explore characteristics of what makes a good
upstream neighbor, while asserting the need to work arduously to promote wider
understanding of diverse worldviews and decolonizing practices in transboundary
management.
Box 8.1 The story of the Water Song
Told by Beatrice Menase Kwe Jackson, Migizi Clan
This song was written by Doreen Day at the request of her grandson. She
attended a conference about the water at which the internationally known
speaker, Dr. Masaru Emoto, said that the very least we should do every day,
is to speak to the water:
Water, we love you.
We thank you.
We respect you.
So she did this. Every day on their drive to drop Mashkoonce (Little Elk) to
school, they passed a body of water. And every day they said these words