Professor Aimée Craft has earned a grant from the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) for a project entitled “Sacred Responsibilities to Water: Indigenous Knowledge Exchange (Canada-Colombia)”, which aims to bring together nations with different cultures and languages that have intimate relationships with water.
Indigenous communities in Canada and Colombia are disproportionately affected by water insecurity yet continue to have a sacred relationship with water. These communities have prioritized water security, and the revitalization of Indigenous spiritual and linguistic practices as part of continuing self-determination, wellness and governance.
Professor Craft has joined with Professor Pilar Riano of the University of British Columbia to work towards strengthening Indigenous water governance as well as developing a more robust understanding of water as its own legal entity. The project delves into the corresponding and complementary political agency of Indigenous nations in navigating their individual, communal and nation-based responsibilities to water. Joining Professors Craft and Riano on this project are Leona Star of the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, and Professor Jaime Cidro of the University of Winnipeg.
The New Frontiers in Research Fund supports research projects that bring disciplines together in non-traditional ways to explore new research directions. Professor Craft’s work will challenge the very ways in which state governments address and relate to water. Historically thought of as a resource, this project aims to contribute to the recognition of water as a legal entity with rights and obligations.
Click here for more information on the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF).
Click here to see the other winners from the University of Ottawa.
Professor Craft is also the recipient of an Early Researcher Award (ERA) from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, announced earlier this spring, which supports her research exploring the changing legal landscape of Indigenous water governance in Canada. Click here to read more about her ERA project.
Congratulations to Professor Craft and her colleagues!