Autumn Peltier: The Water Warrior

(Recent Photo of Autumn Peltier)

The twelve-year-old girl stood before the Prime Minister, a beacon of zealous courage. It was the 2016 winter meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. Robed in an Anishinabek water dress that her mother had toiled over with unceasing dedication, she had been chosen to present a traditional water bundle to Justin Trudeau. This consisted of a copper pot, cup, red cloth and ceremonial tobacco. The girl had written a three-page speech on her fight for the protection of water just for the occasion, but with only a few moments to make her voice heard she abandoned it for a plaintive, unembellished message: “I am very unhappy with the choices you’ve been making.” Trudeau replied that he understood, and she only managed to utter, “The pipelines,” before breaking down in tears. Trudeau promised her, “I will protect the water,” and as the girl later told a reporter, she could only pray that he would.

(Photo from 2016 Assembly of First Nations: Justin Trudeau and Autumn Peltier’s interaction)

This was the event that gained Indigenous activist Autumn Peltier, now seventeen years old, international fame. She was born and raised on the Wikwemikong First Nations reserve on Manitoulin Island, which is encompassed by Lake Huron, one of the largest freshwater bodies in the world. Throughout her early life, Peltier was brought up to understand the value of water and the cultural tradition behind it. One of the most prominent influences in her life was her great-aunt, Josephine Mandamin. Mandamin, who passed away in February of 2019, was an Anishinabek elder and the co-founder of the Mother Earth Water Walk initiative, which seeks to create awareness for water rights and conservation through communal expeditions around bodies of water. Mandamin herself circumnavigated the shorelines of all five Great Lakes, and her dying wish was that her grand-niece continue her work. So Peltier did and even took on her great-aunt’s former role of Chief Water Commissioner when she was appointed by the Anishinabek Nation in April of 2019.

Before all of this took place, however, Peltier had already been speaking up for the protection of water since she was only eight years old. The spark that inspired her to begin her activism was her first encounter with boiled water advisories in Serpent River First Nation in Ontario, where she attended an Indigenous ceremony with her mother. She was shocked that those who lived in the unceded community, many of them children younger than herself, were being forced to live in such conditions and she was determined to make a change.

Peltier has always had a deep connection to her Indigenous roots. Her Anishinabek heritage includes praying for the health of the water, sprinkling ceremonial tobacco in it, taking part in ceremonies, singing and more. It is only through this rich cultural background that the second half of Peltier’s purpose can be understood. She fights not only for humanity’s right to have clean water but for the water itself. In her own words, she fights because “water is alive and it does have a spirit. And she hurts every day.” One crucial lesson that Peltier’s culture has taught her is that women in particular have a unique relationship with water. As Autumn states, “Women are sacred vessels. They carry the water for nine months while babies are in the womb and so we all come from that sacred water.”

Some of Peltier’s most notable moments in the spotlight were when she represented Canada at the 2015 Children’s Climate Conference in Sweden, addressed the UN during World Water Day 2018 in New York and spoke at the 2019 Global Landscapes Forum. Her work has earned her widespread recognition, from being nominated for the Children’s Peace Prize three times since 2017 to making it onto the BBC list for the Top 100 Women of 2019. Peltier even starred in a documentary, “The Water Walker,” which was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.

(Photo from 2019 UN Global Landscape: Autumn Peltier’s speech)

       Peltier’s goals for the future include seeking out higher platforms where she can have her voice heard, especially on behalf of youth and Indigenous peoples. The ardent drive that she continues to demonstrate in carrying out her work can be an inspiration to all, and her fight for water conservation has earned her the name “Water Warrior.” It is a hard truth that due to pollution and climate change, the Earth’s waters are in a crippled state. Yet, with people like Autumn Peltier who are willing to take a stand, the future is not without hope.