Northern Cheyenne Tribe celebrates Water is Life
July 21, 2017
During the week of June 26, the National Tribal Water Center (NTWC) partnered with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to participate in Water Week as part of the Water is Life project. Through a collaboration with the Northern Cheyenne Department of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Chief Dull Knife College, and the Northern Cheyenne Utility Commission, the Water is Life project’s aim is to promote pride and ownership of the Tribal drinking water system and celebrate the Northern Cheyenne cultural values and traditions surrounding water. Water is Life brings education and awareness to the community water system through community-based activities.
The central activity of the Water is Life project is a cultural public mural painting on one of the water tanks on the reservation. Yakama/Pawnee artist and activist Bunky Echo-Hawk was the mural artist for the Northern Cheyenne Water is Life project. During a community visioning meeting, community members shared their ideas and thoughts for what is reflective of them and their Tribe to be painted on the water tank.
“The mural features a ledger-style warrior woman who is carrying an umbrella and a briefcase, which represents preparedness, protection and litigation,” shared Echo-Hawk. “The Northern Cheyenne are, like so many Tribes, engulfed in ongoing lawsuits to protect their land, water, and basic human rights.”
Other events and activities that took place throughout Water Week included storytelling with Northern Cheyenne Elder Linwood Tallbull, screenprinting on T-shirts, and storytelling and T-shirt making with Elder Tony Prairiebear. Tallbull shared traditional stories about water with the Northern Cheyenne youth. The youth also created drawings based on Tallbull’s stories, which were turned into a youth mural. The youth murals are going to be placed in and around the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
Water Week concluded in a celebration with the Northern Cheyenne community. The celebration included a walk to the water storage tank to view and bless the mural and Water Warrior awards that recognized community members who have worked to protect water.
NTWC was established in 2011 and is located within the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
In 2016, NTWC partnered with Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative (ARUC) communities on Water is Life projects in Russian Mission and Deering. Funding for the murals came from the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation (HANF). Because of the work that NTWC and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Engineering does within Alaska, NTWC was able to bring the same project to Tribes in the Lower 48. Building on the Water is Life successes in Russian Mission and Deering, the experiences and lessons learned were brought to Lame Deer, Montana, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
NTWC anticipates partnering with additional ARUC communities and holding Water is Life projects with Shungnak (Fall 2017) and Upper Kalskag (Spring 2018). The murals in those two communities will also be funded through support from HANF.
In 2018, the Water is Life curriculum will be available online. This will include a step-by-step guide and supporting materials on how to implement a Water is Life project in your community. The guide will include everything from meeting agenda, scope of works, activity checklists, and even how to incorporate the Water is Life project into a grant application. Learn more about the NTWC at http://tribalwater.org/.