Autumn Peltier: Water Warrior — Deep Blue Cleanup

Water Warrior

*Image from https://www.manitoulin.com/tiff-featuring-autumn-peltier-documentary/*

Autumn Peltier is a 15-year old Canadian, indigenous water advocate, who has made a huge impact despite her being such a young age. Autumn was originally from an area near Lake Huron and is a member of Wikwemikong First Nation of Northern Ontario. From a young age Autumn learned the importance of safe water, inspired by her great aunt Josephine Mandamin’s water advocacy work and position of chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation. Fortunately, Autumn always had access to clean water, but at a young age she was around many others that were not as lucky. She heard of nearby reservations and communities who did not have access to safe drinking water, as chemicals from pollution and pipelines contaminated it. This sparked Autumn’s passion for water advocacy at the young age of just 8 years old, working to help ensure everyone has equal access to clean water.

When Autumn was 8 years old, she attended her first water ceremony at a first Nations reserve just a couple hours away from Wiikwemkoong. When visiting this reserve Autumn noticed advisory posters saying not to consume any water and that there were boil water advisories- something she had not encountered before in her own community. The realization that many aboriginal communities do not have access to safe water inspired Autumn to help advocate for clean water. Autumn began speaking up at her school, working to educate her fellow peers on the importance of clean water.

In 2015 at the age of 10, Autumn travelled to Sweden to attend the Children’s Climate Crisis. The following year she spoke to Justin Trudeau during the 2016 Assembly of First nations annual meeting. She insisted that he had do more to help First Nation Communities facing issues with water contamination, following the approval of more pipeline projects. In 2017 Autumn was nominated for the Children’s International Peace Prize, and in 2018 travelled to the UN in to advocate for water rights. Early last year, Autumn was appointed as the new chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation, following her aunt’s death in February. She was named one of the worlds 100 most inspiring and influential women by BBC and continues to fight for clean water. She describes in a Flare article struggling with bullying because of her water advocacy, but despite this she makes huge strides and continues to inspire all of those around her to do better. On September 14th of this year, the Toronto International Film Festival is screening a documentary called “The Water Walker”, a short film highlighting Autumn’s hard work and advocacy for equal rights to clean water across the globe.