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“The water needs our help.”

Tasha Beeds, a Plains Cree Mide-Kwe and Water Walker, has walked nearly 7,000 km to raise awareness about the current state of water systems in Canada and the United States. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Indigenous Studies at Trent University with a research focus on violence, Indigenous women, and Cree consciousness. 

Tasha shared her knowledge and experiences with Nibi (water) to the Indigenous youth interested in applying for the Waabnoong Drinking Water Internship. She inspired us all with stories of her journeys across her ancestral lands and shared the ways in which we can engage with and help the water.

This is one of the many ways the Water First interns will be learning to use non-Indigenous tools alongside Traditional Knowledge and methods to help the water and people in their communities. We value this immensely. 

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A big thank you to Tasha Beeds for the opportunity to hear her speak and for her permission to share this video.

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Drinking water advisory statistics are for federally maintained systems on First Nations reserve lands only. These numbers do not include private systems or systems in Inuit communities.

Drinking water advisories include short-term (under 1 year) and long-term (more than 1 year) boil water advisories, do not consume advisories, and do not use advisories for First Nation communities in Canada.

Calculating the number of drinking water advisories is a complex process. Water First relies on information from several different sources. 

Sources: www.watertoday.ca, www.sac-isc.gc.ca, www.fnha.ca.

Last Updated: July 2026