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[?]

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Hello, good day, everyone.

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I'm from the Shinnecock Nation.

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Tabutni to the Cahuilla peoples,

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whose land we gather on today.

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I was taught that water is alive.

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It can hear,

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it holds memories.

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And so I brought a water vessel[br]up with me today,

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because I want it to hold the memories[br]of our conversation today.

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Who gets legal rights?

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History has shown us[br]some people but not others.

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In the United States,[br]Indigenous peoples like myself

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were not citizens[br]under the law until 1924.

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My Shinnecock ancestors, pictured here,

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were not citizens under the law.

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Then why do we claim to be nations[br]governed by the rule of law

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if some people are protected,[br]but not others?

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Because it remains one[br]of the best ways to fight injustice.

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And, as Indigenous people,[br]we know injustice.

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A dear friend, mentor, water walker,

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Nokomis, Grandmother[br]Josephine Mandamin-ba,

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she told me of a prophecy[br]that comes from her people,

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the Anishinaabe of the Midewiwin Society.

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And in that prophecy,

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she told me that it tells[br]of a day that will come

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where an ounce of water[br]costs more than an ounce of gold.

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When she told me that prophecy,[br]I sat for a moment,

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and I thought about all of the injustices[br]we see in our world today,

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the water crises we see[br]in our world today,

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and I said, "Nokomis, Grandmother,

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I feel like we are already[br]in that time of prophecy."

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And she looked back at me directly,

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and she said,

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"So what are you going to do about it?"

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That's why I'm here with you today,

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because I believe[br]that one of the many solutions

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to solving the many water injustices[br]we see in our world today

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is recognizing that water[br]is a living relation

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and granting it the legal[br]personhood it deserves.

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So to do so, we need to transform[br]the way in which we value water.

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We have to start to think[br]about how do we connect to water.

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Usually, someone might ask you,

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"What is water?"

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and you would respond[br]with "Rain, ocean, lake, river,

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H20, liquid."

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You might even understand[br]the sacred essentiality of water

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and say that water is life.

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But what if I asked you, instead,

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"Who is water?"

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In the same way that I might ask you,[br]"Who is your grandmother?"

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"Who is your sister?"

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That type of orientation

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fundamentally transforms the way[br]in which we think about water,

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transforms the way[br]in which we make decisions

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about how we might protect water,

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protect it in the way that you[br]would protect your grandmother,

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your mother, your sister, your aunties.

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That is the type of transformation

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that we need if we are going to address[br]the many water crises we see

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in our world today,

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these harrowing water crises

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that have streamed[br]across our digital devices

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in countdowns to Day Zero,

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the point at which municipal[br]water supplies are shut off.

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Places like Cape Town, South Africa,

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where in 2018,

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residents were limited[br]to two-minute showers

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and 23 gallons of water[br]per day per person,

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or just this past summer,[br]where the mismanagement of water

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led the streets of Chennai

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to be lined with thousands[br]of plastic water jugs

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as residents waited hours[br]for water tankers

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to deliver water,[br]first by rail, then by truck,

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to meet their daily needs.

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Or even here in the United States,

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one of the most developed[br]nations in the world.

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Today, Flint, Michigan[br]still does not have clean water.

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But you are likely unfamiliar[br]with these water crises,

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such as Neskantaga First Nation[br]in Northern Ontario, Canada,

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where residents have been[br]on a boil water advisory since 1995.

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Or Grassy Narrows First Nation,

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which for decades has been dealing[br]with water contamination

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from the paper mill industry

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and where a recent study found

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that nearly 90 percent[br]of the Indigenous population

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has some form of mercury poisoning,

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causing severe health complications.

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Or even among the Navajo Nation.

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Pictured here is the Animas River[br]on an early morning in 2015,

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prior to the Gold King Mine spill.

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After the spill leaked millions[br]of hazardous mine waste

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into the river system,

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this was it later that day.

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Today, the Navajo Nation[br]and the [unclear] People

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and the river itself are still[br]trying to recover from contamination.

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Or even right here[br]in Palm Springs, California,

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where the Agua Caliente Band[br]of Cahuilla Indians

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has been fighting for decades[br]to protect groundwater from exploitation

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so that future generations

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can not only live but thrive[br]in their homelands,

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as they have since time immemorial.

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You see, a recent study[br]by DIGDEEP and the US Water Alliance

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found that race, in the United States,

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is the strongest predictor[br]of water and sanitation access,

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and that for us,

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as Native American people,

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we are the group most likely[br]to have access issues

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as it comes to water and sanitation.

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So, as an Indigenous[br]legal scholar and scientist,

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I believe that many[br]of these water injustices

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are the result of the Western[br]legal system's failure to recognize

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the legal personhood of water.

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And so we must ask ourselves --

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who is justice for?

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Humanity alone?

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We've granted legal personhood[br]to corporations.

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In the US, the Supreme Court[br]found in "Citizens United"

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that a corporation was a person

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with similar protections[br]under the Constitution,

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such as freedom of speech,

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and applied similar reasoning[br]in "Hobby Lobby,"

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finding that a corporation[br]had the right to freedom of religion

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in defense against the implementation[br]of the Affordable Care Act

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for its employees.

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Now, these are controversial cases,

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and as a Shinnecock woman[br]and a legal scholar,

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they make me question[br]the moral compass of the Western world,

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where you can grant legal[br]personhood to a corporation

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but not nature.

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You see, legal personhood[br]grants us the ability

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to be visible in a court of law,

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and to have our voices heard[br]as a person protected under the law.

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And so if you can grant that[br]to a corporation,

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why not the Great Lakes?

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Why not the Mississippi River?

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Why not the many waterways[br]across our planet

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that we all depend on to survive?

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We know we are in a global climate crisis,

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but globally, our waters[br]are also threatened,

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and we are facing a global water crisis,

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and if we want to address[br]these crises in our lifetime,

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we need to change.

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We need to fundamentally transform[br]the way in which we value water.

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And this is not something new[br]for us as Indigenous peoples.

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Our Indigenous legal systems[br]have a foundational principle

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of understanding our nonhuman relations

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as being living and protected[br]under our laws.

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And even for the Western world,

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environmental legal theorists

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have argued for the rights of nature[br]since the 1970s.

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But we need to do better.

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We need to change.

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And we need to grant[br]legal personhood to water,

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because it affords the following[br]rights and protections.

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It grants water the right to exist,

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flourish, and naturally evolve,

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and most of all,[br]it protects the water from us,

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from human beings that would do it harm,

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from human-caused climate-change impacts,

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from pollutants,

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and from man-made contamination.

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Moreover, it reverses[br]the accepted hierarchy

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of humanity's domination over nature.

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As human beings on this planet,

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we are not superior[br]to other beings on this planet.

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We are not superior to the water itself.

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We have to learn[br]how to be good stewards again.

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We often imagine that the world[br]is filled with infinite water.

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In fact, it's not.

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This planet, o ye, Mother Earth,

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has very finite freshwater resources.

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Currently, nearly two billion people

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live in countries experiencing[br]high water stress.

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It is also estimated that by 2030,

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up to 700 million people[br]could be displaced, worldwide,

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due to water scarcity.

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We have to address this crisis.

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And so it's time for us to change.

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We have to transform[br]the way in which we value water.

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And we can do that.

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We can learn to be good stewards again.

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We can create laws through which[br]we grant legal personhood to water.

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We can start to honor[br]the original treaties

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between Indigenous peoples[br]and non-Indigenous peoples

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for water protection.

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We can appoint guardians for the water

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that ensure the water's rights[br]are always protected.

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We can also develop[br]water-quality standards

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that have a holistic approach,

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that ensure the well-being of the water[br]before our human needs.

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And moreover, we can work to dismantle[br]exclusive property ownership over water.

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And there are amazing successful examples[br]of this around the world.

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The Whanganui River[br]and Mount Tongariro in New Zealand

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and the Ganges River in India

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were both granted[br]legal personhood in 2017.

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And even this year,

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the residents of the city of Toledo

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recognized the legal[br]personality of Lake Erie.

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And right here in California,

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the Yurok Tribe granted legal personhood[br]to the Klamath River.

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You see, I imagine a world[br]where we value water

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as a living relation,

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where we work to restore[br]our connection to water.

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As women, we are water carriers.

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We nurture water[br]in our wombs for nine months.

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It's the first medicine[br]that each of us as human beings

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is exposed to.

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See, we are all born as human beings[br]with a natal connection to water,

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but somewhere along the way,[br]we lost that connection,

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and we have to work to restore it.

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Because I imagine a world

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in which water is healthy[br]and ecosystems are thriving.

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I imagine a world

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where each of us takes up[br]our right of responsibility

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as water citizens

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and protects water.

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So, in the words of Nokomis,

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what are you going to do about it?

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What are you going to do for the water?

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Well, you can call your local politician.

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You can go to a town meeting.

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You can advocate for granting[br]legal personhood to water.

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You can be like the residents[br]of the city of Toledo

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and build from the grass roots,

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and craft your own legislation[br]if the politicians won't write it,

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recognizing legal personality of water.

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You can learn about the Indigenous lands[br]and waters that you now occupy

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and the Indigenous legal systems[br]that still govern them.

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And most of all, you can connect to water.

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You can restore that connection.

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Go to the water closest to your home,

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and find out why it is threatened.

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But most of all, if you do anything,

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I ask that you make a promise to yourself,

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that each day, you will ask,

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"What have I done for the water today?"

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If we are able to fulfill that promise,

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I believe we can create a bold[br]and brilliant world

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where future generations are able to form

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the same relationship to water[br]that we have been privileged to have,

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where all communities[br]of human and nonhuman relations

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have water to live,

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because water is life.

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Tabutni. Thank you.

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(Applause)