During 2018 and 2019, Water-Culture Institute is documenting how Indigenous communities are confronting threats to their water sovereignty. The study focuses on four major types of water threats: (a) dams, (b) mines, (c) oil/gas, and (d) water grabs; and a wide variety of "water sovereignty strategies ranging from art activism to legal challenges, education, invoking international conventions on biodiversity, and many more.
Along with analyzing water threats and opportunities, we will also assess the organizations active in supporting Indigenous water sovereignty, ranging from UN agencies to research institutes to NGOs and national agencies.
The Water-Culture Institute promotes the sustainable management of our rivers, lakes, springs, and groundwater through the application of indigenous wisdom and cultural traditions that respect the rights of nature. Our premise is that the sustainability of water ecosystems requires an ethic that recognizes our sacred responsibility to the Earth. We work both locally and globally. Locally our focus is New Mexico and the Rio Grande Basin. Additional geographic areas where we plan to become active are (1) Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin and (2) East-Central India (Mahanadi River Basin). Globally we are cooperating with UNESCO and other international organizations to develop a global "water ethics charter" (See program description).
1021 Camino Santander