Indigenous Waters Network

The Indigenous Water Network (IWN) is a grassroots effort led by tribal people and supported on an organizational basis by River Network. It exists to specifically address tribal issues related to water with a focus on protecting water resources, cultural uses and traditional values of water, as well as establishing scientifically based tribal water codes.. Organizational structure involves a four-pronged approach consisting of tribal leaders, tribal water professionals, federal agencies and outside collaborators.

IWN efforts will ultimately result in:

  1. improved relations between tribes, federal government agencies and non-tribal people;
  2. increased technical and administrative capacity of tribes to ensure compliance with federal laws (CWA and SDWA) and regulations governing water resources in a manner consistent with tribal sovereignty and tribal treaty rights; and
  3. enhance water quality and quantity and drinking water/waste water systems and in turn, human health, plants, fisheries and wildlife conditions.

Tribal participants have always participated in River Network's national annual conference, River Rally. Tribal participation has increased throughout the six years this event has been held and included ad hoc gatherings in 2002, 2003 and 2004. With EPA support, approximately 60 tribal participants attended the 2005 Rally where tribes and EPA staff explored common needs in the areas of water rights, source water protection, water quality standards, TMDLs, water allocation and wetland management issues. The success of this gathering brought increased tribal interest to the IWN interim steering committee and the desire to gather regularly and for the foreseeable future.

With a grant from the General Service Foundation, an interim IWN steering committee planned and convened its inaugural meeting February 17-19, 2006 in Portland, Oregon. This meeting established the goals and vision of the IWN, identified potential programs, projects and activities including networking, web presence, annual meetings, training opportunities, relationships with other national organizations, staff positions, elder and youth perspectives and IWN recruitment. In addition, the interim steering committee discussed the potential structure for the permanent IWN steering committee and how it would function.

As a result of this first formal meeting, the following mission statement was developed:

"As sovereign indigenous peoples, we recognize, honor, and respect that water is a sacred and powerful gift from the Creator. The IWN strives to: 1) - ensure that all living things have access to clean and safe waters; 2) - establish and maintain a unified voice for indigenous waters; 3) - connect people once again through water by sharing traditional knowledge, wisdom and stories; 4) - utilize cultural knowledge and science to guide appropriate use for the management, protection and sustainability of Indigenous Waters."

Tribal people representing the Wind River Alliance, Eastern Shoshone Tribe, Tohono O'odham Nation, Navajo Nation, Northern Arapaho Tribe, Taos Pueblo, Sokaogon Chippewa Community and Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council lead the IWN. In addition, the First Nations Development Institute, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition, Native American Rights Fund, Native Waters/Montana State University, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and tribal members from others including Fort Belknap, Native Hawaiian, Hopi Tribe, Nambe Pueblo, Sandia Pueblo, Switch'in and Yupik have contributed to the development of the IWN.

The IWN envisions the establishment of a vast network of people, organizations and agencies who are working towards the benefits of clean and safe water on tribal lands; an advisory elder council; the sustained support of a youth council; a training center focusing on tribal water needs; a resource bank that matches water professionals to tribal communities with critical technical and scientific needs; and a clearinghouse of tribal-specific river resource information, to include federal, state, local, and tribal legislation and policies.