4 ` www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Spring 2023 By Danica Abrams and Nicole Coenen, Swim Drink Fish Canada WATER In September, GBA attended the launch event for Biinaagami, the name given to an Indigenousguided project initiated by Canadian Geographic and Swim Drink Fish to raise awareness about the global importance of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed and its First Peoples. “Without water, we will not survive,” says Elder Barbara Nolan of Garden River First Nation as the waves of Lake Huron lap gently onto Manidoowaaling’s (Manitoulin Island) shore. “Biinaagami: there is no way to bring it back if we lose it,” echoes Elder/Gezit Donna Debassige of Anishinabek Nation from beside her. Biinaagami. In Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabek Peoples of the Great Lakes, Biinaagami can be interpreted as “clean water.” Biinad means something is clean, while aagami comes from another part of a word referring to the state of a liquid. “When it’s clear,” explains Nolan, “it’s Biinaagami.” Biinaagami is also a word that describes a shared responsibility to protect water — and ensure that it’s swimmable, drinkable, and fishable for future generations. Indigenous Peoples — there are more than 200 Nations in the watershed — have been connected to and protecting these waters since time immemorial. It’s apt that such a word has been gifted to a new project that will bring people together to celebrate, restore and protect the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed. The Biinaagami project aims to bring the Indigenous spirit and knowledge of the water to supporting communities, organizations, and individuals to take collective action to ensure the health of this sacred resource and uplift the voices of the watershed. It is a multiyear, collaborative project, initiated by Canadian Geographic and Swim Drink Fish, that provides resources and information to help individuals and groups connect to the watershed — and advocate for its cultural and ecological sustainability. And to start the project off in a good way, it needed to have the right name. When Patrick Madhabee, former Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation, learned about the initiative, he immediately knew what to do. For Anishinabek, women are the waterkeepers, holding a special responsibility when it comes to looking after the water. So Madhabee consulted with Elder Barbara Nolan, Anishinabek Nation Language Commissioner Biinaagami: Our Shared Responsibility to the Great Lakes Floor map at Biinaagami launch A water keeper holds Biinaagami in her hands Wampum belts displayed at Biinaagami launch
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