Opinions: Water as a Human Right

Human Rights   Aug 29, 2017 by Kasandra Springford

Tansi!

I'm Anna Wilson. My other names include Mom, Granny Annie, volunteer and social justice global citizen. I have earned  a Bachelor of Education Degree in Secondary Education specializing in Shakespearian studies, Aboriginal literature, journalism and literary essays. I have taught secondary English courses in many culturally diverse communities. I have also earned a Masters Degree in Educational Policy Studies with a specialization in Theoretical, Cultural and International education. I have also earned a Master of Library and Information Studies Degree with a focus on Indigenous approaches to disabilities. She has studied the history of the Canadian Indian Residential School Crisis and the water crisis on many First Nations Reserves. I have taught in northern Aboriginal communities in Canada and has developed a deep appreciation for Indigenous culture. I have volunteered as a researcher and co-host of CJSR Radio’s Aboriginal Call-In Show “Moccasin Telegraph” where they discuss Aboriginal cultural and human rights. She has researched the information sharing needs of people with learning disabilities, autism and other disabilities. Having multiple disabilities myself enables me to provide an empathetic approach to educating children with autism. Since I believe that you are never too old to learn, I am pursuing a PhD in Theoretical, Cultural and International Education. I am currently reading the work of Dr. Marie Battiste's (2013) Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit. 

Over the years many people have asked me why I never owned a house or a car, yet I have 3 university degrees. My response to that is: An education can never be re-possessed by the bank - an education is with you for life. When I graduated with my Bachelor of Secondary Education in June 1999, the last Indian Residential School (IRS) had closed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1996. This means that the ideologies underpinning the practices of the IRS were still being taught in many of the teacher education courses I took, so I must relearn how to decolonize my teaching practices embedded in the hidden curriculum of the education system that places the economy above environmental sustainability.

Some of the questions I must continue to find answers for and I encourage your help are:

• The United Nations UN identifies safe drinking water as a human right- how can we advance this human right by carefully considering:

• How can we ethically sustain the world's supply of drinking water ?
• How can we provide safe drinking water to everyone?
• Who owns water?
• I encourage you to access the following links to answer these questions: 
  • https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/oct/20/water-human-right-price-united-nations
  • https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/07/make-it-safe/canadas-obligation-end-first-nations-water-crisis
  • http://www.unwater.org/water-facts/human-rights/
  • http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/