Water is life. It’s an internationally recognized human right. But some Indigenous communities live with no tap water or wastewater treatment, water that’s undrinkable, and polluted rivers, lakes and streams.
Indigenous peoples have been fighting threats to their water for generations, including government inaction, corporate resource exploitation, and environmental racism, as a result of the ongoing impacts of colonization.
Access to clean drinking water and a healthy environment are rights for everyone, not a privilege for some.
CUPE members are allies in this struggle. We all have a role to play in ending water injustice and working for reconciliation: we support Indigenous peoples as the stewards and protectors of the waters on reserves, treaty lands and traditional unceded territories.
