World Water Day: Teaching About Water Justice in Canada
March 22 is World Water Day, a global movement that highlights the importance of clean, safe water. In Canada, this day also highlights an urgent and ongoing issue: many Indigenous communities continue to face challenges accessing safe drinking water.
While more than 140 long-term drinking advisories in Indigenous communities have been lifted since 2015, dozens of communities still experience water insecurity. Access to clean water directly impacts health, education, and overall community well-being. For educators, World Water Day is an opportunity to move beyond general environmental awareness and engage students in meaningful conversations about water justice in Canada.
Water is More Than a Resource
For many Indigenous Nations, water is not simply a commodity or utility. Water is sacred. It is living. It is deeply connected to land, language, governance, and responsibility.
Indigenous Water Protectors and youth leaders have consistently emphasized that caring for water is both a spiritual and legal responsibility. Indigenous Water Protectors and Water Carriers continue to lead important work to safeguard waterways and advocate for long-term protections. These perspectives remind us that conversations about water are also conversations about sovereignty, stewardship, and Indigenous rights.
Bringing these perspectives into the classroom helps learners understand that environmental issues are also social and political issues shaped by history, policy, and power.
Why This Matters in Education
Water insecurity directly affects students. When communities lack reliable access to clean drinking water, it impacts school attendance, infrastructure, and health. It also shapes how youth experience their relationship to land and community.
World Water Day provides educators with an opportunity to:
- Connect environmental learning to Indigenous rights and governance
- Explore how public policy affects communities differently
- Highlight Indigenous leadership in environmental stewardship
- Foster critical thinking about sustainability and responsibility
These conversations can be integrated across science, social studies, geography, and civics classrooms.
If you’re looking for ways to expand environmental learning beyond a single day, you may also find helpful reflections in our previous blog post, Earth Day and Beyond: Our Water.
Organizations Supporting Indigenous-Led Water Initiatives
Several organizations are working alongside Indigenous communities to strengthen water security and environmental capacity:
- Water First supports water operator training, youth education, and environmental monitoring initiatives.
- The Water Carriers Project, run by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, uplifts Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people as leaders in self-determined water governance and guardians of future generations.
Learning about and amplifying these initiatives helps learners understand that solutions must be community-led and grounded in Indigenous Knowledge systems.
Classroom Discussion Prompts
When discussing World Water Day with students, consider exploring:
- What does it mean to say water is sacred or living?
- Why might access to clean water differ between communities?
- How are Indigenous Nations leading water stewardship efforts?
- What responsibilities do governments and citizens share in protecting water?
For younger learners, consider incorporating age-appropriate stories and resources that explore themes of water, land, and stewardship. For example, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom.
World Water Day is an opportunity not only to raise awareness but to deepen our understanding of water as a shared responsibility. In Canada, that responsibility includes recognizing Indigenous leadership, lived realities, and long-standing relationships to land and water.
