As The Water Flows 2.0

As The Water Flows 2.0

On February 11 and 12, the second edition of the “As The Water Flows” event took place at Wendake’s Hôtel-musée Premières Nations.

Bringing together some 40 representatives from 18 communities, the event provided a forum for sharing and exchanging ideas on fish habitat restoration and other environmental issues.

Day 1: Project presentations and cultural activities

Four indigenous organizations shone with their presentations on the first day of the event:

• The Odanak Land and Environment Office (BETO)
• The Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association (MWIFMA)
• Gespe’gewa’gi Institute of Natural Understanding (GINU)
• The Nionwentsïo Bureau

They shared their expertise by presenting their fish habitat restoration and knowledge acquisition projects.

After the presentations concluded, the afternoon featured two activities.

Sharing circle around the fire 

Mr. Oscar Kistabish and Ms. Evelyne St-Onge, by their presence and wisdom, offered a memorable sharing experience to the event’s participants.

 Storytelling Session: Wendat Myths and Legends

Hosted by Dominic Ste-Marie, Wendat storyteller and interpretive guide, this session immersed participants in the rich world of Wendat oral traditions and history.

Day two: Collaborative sharing circle

The second day was entirely devoted to a sharing circle structured around five major themes:

• Restoring Atlantic salmon habitat
• Restoration of lake sturgeon and walleye habitat
• Aquatic connectivity
• Capacity building and development
• Collaboration with the Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program towards restoration

To support this collaborative work, we were privileged to benefit from the expertise of a graphic facilitator, for which the design thinking approach helped generate illustrations with potential solutions for the identified issues. The illustrations produced will subsequently be sent to all participants.