Use of Indigenous Knowledge in Modeling the Water Quality Dynamics in Peepeekisis and Kahkewistahaw First Nations Communities

摘要

Throughout the centuries, every culture has had an intimate and vital connection to water. It is one of the most important elements necessary to sustain life. Civilizations have based their communities in close proximity to water systems for sustenance, cleansing, sacred ceremony and prayer, healing, play and recreation, transport, economics, irrigation of crops and livestock, and unfortunately diluting wastes and contaminants. Each culture has a different way of representing how sacred water is and assigning a unique and intimate value to it. Cultural traditions, Indigenous practices, and societal values are all interconnected in the ways people perceive and manage water throughout the world. Within the reported research project we have developed the Indigenous-knowledge-based method to evaluate water quality and describe the temporal model of water quality dynamics. The method was appropriate for the community water area of Peepeekisis and Kahkewistahaw First Nations situated around the Calling Lakes, Saskatchewan.