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Water First Ambassador: Nadia George

Passion and enthusiasm emanate from Nadia George like water flows. Genuinely, effortlessly and with relish. 

Based in Toronto, Nadia is an award-winning Indigenous-Canadian actor, media personality, public speaker, and now officially a Water First Ambassador. Her work focuses on uplifting young Indigenous voices by giving space for them to be seen and heard. She challenges the idea of what it means to be a contemporary Indigenous person by addressing stigmas and having open communication around contemporary Indigenous identity. Nadia advocates to bring awareness about equity within Indigenous communities around accessibility, health, mental health, and addiction. She seeks ways to improve the quality of life for all Indigenous Peoples; building bridges by providing learning opportunities to others and fostering positive reconciliation friendships. 

Nadia proactively reached out to Water First to voluntarily collaborate, advocate, and support addressing the water crisis in Indigenous communities. So, Ami Gopal, Director of Communications, sat down to chat with Nadia to learn more about her journey, vision for the future, and motivations in working with Water First. 

Read the interview

When and why did you start using your influence for good? 

When I was in university I recognized the sobering statistics of Indigenous people and also having lived experience watching what happened with my father. The oppression and racism he faced in his life made me want to do more. My father always believed in doing for others and giving back to our community, which is my inspiration. I decided to put my efforts towards having an influence and a platform to use my voice to support my community of Indigenous Peoples. As an Indigenous person I have a right, but also an obligation to communities and to the children of the future. 


It is very obvious that you feel passionately about clean drinking water in Indigenous communities. Can you tell us why?

When the water crisis happened in Walkerton my father happened to be jailed at an institution that relied on that water. When it was quickly fixed, I spoke with my father and mentioned that he must be happy that it was dealt with and they had safe water again. I was surprised by an undertone of sadness, resentment, and anger. He pointed out: How can this get fixed so quickly here and yet so many of our people are still without clean water? This reality really impacted my father – mentally and emotionally. At the time I didn’t deeply understand it. 

It was years later when I was acting in a film that was being shot on an Indigenous reserve. During my time there, water was brought in by truck for us to use. They specifically told us to not wash our hands in the water. Not to drink the water. Not to use anything that the water had touched. It brought me back to that moment with my father. It made me pause and think, wait a moment, the people we are renting this house from have to bathe in this water. They don’t get to leave and go home like I was able to at the end of the filming. They don’t get to have a shower and not think about their water. It was at that moment that I thought – this is not ok.

If my father was still here today, I know this is something he would be advocating for. So as a legacy to my father, and to our communities, I want to make a difference on this issue if I can. 

“This is real for me. I want to really get in there and help out. I needed to be engaged in a meaningful way, and in any way that can provide support.”

Photo credit: Denise Grant

In what ways have you advocated for clean drinking water to date?

I always want to try to give more information. People are asking for it. So sharing information with people to raise awareness. Media, press, and interviews to shed light on the crisis. Talking with family members, friends, and people in the community. Donating. Doing fundraisers. And I’m ready to do more. 


When you were looking for an organization to partner with, what made you choose Water First? 

I came across Water First’s website and started to read. I read about the Three Strands and about how you work with communities. That was the biggest thing for me. The fact that you collaborate with each community individually and really ask them what it is that they need. You identify how you can support their ideas and their ways of wanting to work to get this done. 

That has always been important to me in working with any partner. So many come into these communities and try to work with Indigenous people, but do it from their perspective and their lens. I find this way can do more harm than good. I want to be doing the good work. That was one of the big things for me about Water FIrst is how you’ve built the organization and the values that you stand on. You still continue to do so to this day. There is a long term commitment to the community and the follow through. 

The second thing is that I reached out to a couple of people in our Indigenous community to verify. Have you heard of this organization? Have you worked with this organization? And a few of them had very personal and positive connections to Water First. 


What is something we can all do to help support communities to access clean drinking water? 

Share information! Donate! Write your MPs and MPPs! 

Sharing even just one post on social media can make such a difference. Even if you don’t have money to donate. Consider sharing information so that someone that may be able to donate sees it. We have an amazing opportunity with social media and we need to use it. Just get yourself out there. Take action. Inspire others to do the same!

We have just begun our partnership together and working with Nadia has been authentic, reciprocal and adaptive. A natural fit. We are excited to have Nadia join our team to help us bring awareness and engage everyone looking for ways to support and address the crisis. 

An Anishinabek Perspective on Nibi (Water)

By: Ogamauh annag (Sue Chiblow)

Aniin, Boozhoo, Ogamauh annag qwe dishnecuz, jijauk dodem, Ketegaunzeebee donjeba, Anishinaabe, Ojibway indow. My English or status card name is Susan Bell Chiblow, most know me as Sue Chiblow and I was born and raised by my dad in Garden River First Nation with 4 brothers and 3 sisters. I have raised my three beautiful children and continue to live with my husband, Glen Chiblow in GRFN. As a teenager, I lived with my Nokumis who told me I had to go to school to get an education so I could understand their ways and then come home to help my people. So that is what I did, I went to school and have recently went back to school to get my PhD with a focus on Anishinabek women and Nibi (water). 

I have always had a special relationship with water because I grew up surrounded by two rivers and as a child, those were our swimming pools, our fishing spots, and a place where I could sit and listen to the birds, the trees, and the wind by the rivers. I learnt to respect the water at a young age and understand how important water is for all life, the trees, the fish, the birds, and the animals. All of life needs water to live. 

The knowledge I have about water has been given to me by many different Indigenous Peoples because I have been very fortunate to work with and for them. I have been told that we have a different understanding of what water does and what water is. The western world believes water can be bought and sold, that it can be controlled, and that it can be poisoned; that it needs to be managed by humans. The Anishinaabek Peoples believe water is alive, it provides life and can take life, that women are the keepers of the waters because we carry babies in water and that water can heal. Many Anishinaabek Peoples also believe that water carries our ancestor’s memories and those memories are transferred from mother to child when the baby is in the water in the mother’s womb. When I participated in the Water Walks lead by Nokumis Josephine Mandamin, she talked about how the different lakes and rivers have different personalities and different water spirits, and we need to make offerings to the waters because we are the waters, water is life and if the waters are healthy then we are healthy. These are a few of the water teachings I have been given.  

Water is life.

An Essential Piece of the Puzzle

“It just makes logical sense” shares Stephanie Trussler, board member of the Peter Gilgan Foundation. “The crisis of clean water is such a large problem and we need to address it from all angles. Water First has a logical and wonderful solution. And they empower Indigenous youth to be part of that solution.”

The Peter Gilgan Foundation strives to improve lives in an enduring manner. Over the last few years, the Foundation has been narrowing its focus to partner with organizations that best align with their mandate. Dedicated to progress and improving life opportunities, they look to support people in the greatest number of ways through education, health, and economic opportunities. 

Water First hits all three.

Through education and training, the Foundation can see the drinking water internship’s impact on community health. As well as the on-going economic opportunities for the young Indigenous adults graduating from the program.

With the devastating effects that COVID-19 could have on First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities, the importance of clean water has never been so clear. 

The Foundation hopes their support will create a ripple effect — encouraging others to invest. “While we are new partners, we have confidence in Water First. The internship is an important piece of the puzzle to help solve a larger issue.”

We called ourselves The Food Crew

By: McKaylii Jawbone of Kebaowek First Nation, Water First Intern

I was a part of a two-year project to restore and enhance walleye spawning habitats in my community. Working with Ivan and Kacie made the project run so smoothly, we worked well as a team and we always had fun to make the days seem a little shorter. We called ourselves ‘The Food Crew’ because we needed a team name, and we always seemed to be talking about food. We spent our days driving in the bush, fighting off mosquitoes, and moving rocks into the water. In the end, we were able to restore three walleye spawning beds.

To start off the project, we got in the truck with a GPS and a map, and a fishing rod. We investigated many potential sites, and talked to community members and elders about any potential areas we could restore. The second step was to agree on a site with the Water First team and Richard Rowe the biologist.

Then the work began of gathering rocks, a lot of rocks. We would get a dump truck to drop them off on the side of the road for us, then we would slide them down to our worksite using a homemade slide. One by one we placed the rocks in the water, wearing our hip-waders or rubber boots to start building the shoal.

I know that this can probably sound boring, “we moved rocks”, but these rocks will provide a safe space for the walleye eggs to drop into and hatch. The end goal of this was to have walleye fish use this spawning bed successfully for years to come.

We wanted to make a difference in the Kipawa Lake fishery, as well as gain knowledge of our land and ways to help preserve the ecosystem, and I think through this project with Water First we were able to accomplish that.

We monitor each site, and will continue to monitor them in the coming years. This work has taught me a lot about walleye fish, their ideal spawning habitat, and also about the importance of sustainable fishing practices.

It’s been great to work with such amazing people from Water First, our mentors throughout the project, Jesse and Jag. It was always so fun to have them come to Kipawa and spend the days in the bush. They would teach us about water science, and we would teach them about our Indigenous culture.  The hard work that’s been done together throughout this project is truly rewarding, and I’m looking forward to more restoration work in the future.