As the Great Lakes Commons initiative braids public trust and Indigenous laws for protecting water, new ideas are emerging.
Let's look at 2 examples.
We are happy to share our new website with clearer organization and new photos (with a winter theme). We have more updates to make and welcome your suggestions -- and photos. We'll be updating the photos every season so start sending in best spring photos. We would also like images (photos, paintings, carvings, etc) that help illustrate our transformative approach:
Bronwyn Clement is one of GLC's newest members. She grew up on Toronto Island where Lake Ontario was the heart of community life. She is passionate about strengthening connections between water and a range of social and environmental justice work. She recently returned to Toronto from Maine, where living on the coast gave her a deeper understanding of how communities connect to and are sustained by their waters. She has tipped her toes in every great lake. See all of the GLC team's bios and faces on our new Who We Are page.
A commons names everything that belongs to all of us and that we must share, care for, and pass on to future generations undiminished. Water is one of the most essential commons we have — water belongs to all of us and is owned by no one. It is a living eco-system unto itself on which the biodiversity of the watershed depends. And like any commons, if it is to thrive, it needs people who step up to act as stewards and protectors.
One of the most important truths to remember is that Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America) were here occupying the lands, implementing their laws, and governing themselves prior to contact with the settlers, and were never conquered by the settlers or their imported governments. This is important to remember because, according to International Law, if the Indigenous Peoples were conquered then all of the laws of the settlers’ imported governments would apply to the new lands.
Melanie Ariens is an environmental advocate and volunteer community coordinator with diverse interests, skills and a willingness to learn just about anything to achieve a set goal. She received her degree in painting, drawing and printmaking from UWM in 1992 and worked there as the print shop assistant. She was formerly represented by La Galleria Del Conte (now closed) and participated in many group and juried shows.
Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee’s Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.
Detroit’s emergency manager filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 to force creditors to negotiate a bankruptcy plan that would slash the city’s unwieldy debt. Last month, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit approved a plan that would over time give Detroit a chance to survive. Missing from the plan, however, is any mention of the disturbance and threat to the rights to water and health of Detroit’s poor caused by the abrupt shut off of their water service.
From October 3-5 I participated in the Living Waters Rally near Ottawa, Ontario -- unceded territory of the Algonquin people. Over 130 people worked on strengthening their knowledge and capacity for protecting freshwater in Canada.
Most Milwaukeeans value living in close proximity to a large body of water, but what are we willing to do to celebrate it? Improve it? Protect it? The year-old Milwaukee Water Commons is a project committed to fostering connection, collaboration and leadership on behalf of the bodies of water in our community.
Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee's Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.