Now I have comprehensive research. Let me create a thorough response about Indigenous water songs from Western Canada.

Indigenous water songs from Western Canada represent a profound spiritual, cultural, and activist tradition centered on the sacred relationship between Indigenous peoples and water. These songs emerge from diverse First Nations, interweaving ancient teachings with contemporary environmental movements to honor water as a living entity and call for its protection.

Major Water Songs and Their Origins

The Ojibwe Nibi (Water) Song

One of the most widely shared water songs was created by Doreen Day, a Minnesota Ojibwe tribal member, at the request of her grandson Mashkoonce. The story behind this song illustrates the intergenerational transmission of water teachings. Every morning while driving past a lake on the way to school, Doreen and her grandson would speak words inspired by Dr. Masaru Emoto: "Water, we love you. We thank you. We respect you." When Mashkoonce asked why they couldn't say these words in their own language and sing them as a lullaby, the Nibi Song was born.youtubeperpich.mn

The phonetic lyrics are: "Ne-be Gee Zah-gay-e-goo, Gee Me-gwetch-wayn ne-me-goo, Gee Zah Wayn ne-me-goo," translating directly to the gratitude for water. This song has been granted explicit permission for widespread sharing and is sung daily by many Ojibwe people to remain mindful of fresh water needs at home and around the world.perpich.mnyoutube

The Algonquin Water Song

Written in 2002 by Irene Wawatie Jerome, an Anshinabe/Cree woman, this song was commissioned by Grandfather William Commanda, an Algonquin Elder, for the Circle of All Nations Gathering. Despite being only 21 years old as a composition, it has become one of the most recognized Indigenous water songs globally. The Wawatie and Commanda families wish for the song to spread far and wide, particularly encouraging women to express gratitude for water.the-wild-soul-tribe+1

The song is sung four times, each time facing one of the four cardinal directions in this order: East, South, West, North. The lyrics begin: "Nee bee wah bow, En die en, Aah key mis kquee...". As Grandmother Nancy explained, "We sing this song like a lullaby. The song means the water is the life's blood of our mother the earth. Water is the life's blood of our own bodies."spiritofchange+2

Wichita-do-ya Water Song

This Anishinaabe water song, shared by knowledge keepers like Théo Redsky Paradis, teaches through the sounds of water itself. The song begins with the quiet drip-drip-drip of spring snow melting from rooftops, creating icicles, then transitions to the thunderous crash and boom of ice breaking on rivers as they thaw. This musical structure mirrors the seasonal transformation of water, helping listeners understand water's power and presence through sound.bridgewaycentre+1youtube

Grandmother Mary Maytwayashing's Nibi Song

Received in a dream by Grandmother Mary Maytwayashing from Lake Manitoba First Nation, this sacred water song contains key spiritual concepts. The song includes the words Manidoo (Creator), Eque (Woman), Nibi (Water), Bineshii-yuck (Thunder Beings), and Nokomis (Grandmother). It encompasses teachings about the sacredness of life, giving thanks to women, and honoring the spiritual relationships between water, thunder beings, and grandmothers.youtube

Métis Water Prayer Song

Recognizing that many Métis women didn't know any water songs, Andrea Menard created the Water Prayer Song as a "giveaway" for the Métis Homeland and the world. This song has been translated into four languages—Northern Michif, Southern Michif, French, and Irish Gaelic—with the hope that communities will continue translating it into additional languages. The song expresses the connection between the waters within our own bodies and the waters of the earth, asking for healing and renewal.metismuseumyoutube

Regional Expressions Across Western Canada

Alberta and the Prairie Provinces

In Treaty 6 territory, which encompasses lands of the Cree, Dene, Nakota, Saulteaux, and Ojibwe Nations, water songs and ceremonies are deeply embedded in cultural practice. The Edmonton-based post-rock band nêhiyawak created an entire album titled "nipiy" (water in Cree) that includes songs honoring the North Saskatchewan River. The river flows through amiskwaciy (Edmonton) at 90 beats per minute, a rhythm the band incorporated into their compositions.edifyedmonton+1youtube

Among the Blackfoot (Piikani) people, the traditional name "Sooyaniskiipoyii" means "Singing in the Water," reflecting the integral relationship between song and water in Blackfoot culture. Traditional Blackfoot singing maintains a steady, fairly loud style with drumming similar to rhythm and blues, creating a distinctive sonic landscape.buildingbrains

The Treaty 6 Flag Song, composed in the early 1900s, honors the relationship between First Nations and the Crown established in 1876. Its words—"Kiycho Kimaskwew Kikiymiykonow Iskiwaywin Kawaywaypasta kakikay kawaywaypasta"—translate to "The Queen, she gave us a flag, for it to fly in the wind forever," echoing the treaty's promise to last "as long as the Sun shines, the Grass grows and the Rivers flow."creeliteracy

British Columbia and Coast Salish Territories

The Coast Salish peoples—including the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), Tsleil-Waututh (Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh), and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations—have welcome songs and prayer songs deeply connected to their waterways. Chief Dan George's prayer song, now known as the Coast Salish Anthem, has become widely sung at ceremonies including naming ceremonies, welcoming new ones into the world, and memorial services.youtube+2

Contemporary Coast Salish water teachings have been expressed through commissioned choral works. "Snewíyalh tl'a Staḵw" (Teachings of the Water) is an 18-minute, five-movement a cappella work in the Squamish language that explores water teachings through collaboration with local Indigenous knowledge keepers. The work was created with the intention that other choirs could adapt it to their own local Indigenous languages and water teachings.elektra

Northwest Territories and Dene Nations

The Dene people of the Northwest Territories maintain hundreds of traditional songs, drumming, and dancing "in Spirit" with the Great Creator. Contemporary works like "Where Waters Meet," commissioned by the Canadian Chamber Choir, have brought together Dene artists such as fiddler Wesley Hardisty and singer-composer Sherryl Sewepagaham (of Woodland Cree and Dene ancestry) to share water teachings through collaborative performance.canadianchamberchoir+1

Cultural Teachings: Women as Water Carriers

Across Western Canadian Indigenous cultures, women hold a special and sacred responsibility as water carriers and protectors. This role is rooted in the fundamental understanding that women carry babies in water for nine months, and birth water is what brings life into the world. As Martina Fisher, an Anishinaabe grandmother from Bloodvein First Nation in Manitoba, explained: "They say women are water carriers because we all have the 90 percent water in our body... We are all born in the water. We come from the water."cbc+2

In Anishinaabe spirituality, gender roles in ceremony are clearly defined: men are taught to be fire keepers, responsible for the sacred fire, while women are water carriers, responsible for protecting and nurturing water. This division reflects complementary responsibilities rather than hierarchy—both elements are essential for ceremony and life itself.sdwf.squarespace+1

Women's role as water protectors extends beyond ceremony into active environmental advocacy. The responsibilities are exercised on behalf of children and generations to come, with knowledge relating to water shared through teachings, stories, and time on the land. Bodies of water are understood as independent entities with spirits, who are looked after, acknowledged, and named in ceremonies and prayer.gct3

The Water Walk Movement

The contemporary water walk movement represents one of the most visible expressions of Indigenous water activism and ceremonial practice. The movement began in 2003 when Grandmother Josephine Mandamin, an Anishinaabe Elder from Wikwemikong First Nation, became deeply concerned about pollution affecting lakes and rivers across Turtle Island (North America). She had received a prophecy from an elder in 2000 warning that "water will cost as much as gold" by the year 2030.wikipedia+2

Over the next 14 years, until 2017, Grandmother Mandamin walked approximately 25,000 miles around all five Great Lakes and other North American waterways, carrying a copper pail of water. The copper was chosen for its sacred and healing properties. Her walks combined physical journey with spiritual ceremony—she sang, prayed, and shared traditional knowledge throughout each walk.resilience+2youtube

Water walks are explicitly recognized as ceremony, not merely protest or awareness events. Participants follow specific protocols: they remain in ceremony from the beginning to the end of each day, moving like the river—continuously—until reaching the destination. Women carry the water in relay, with each woman carrying for less than a mile before passing it to the next. Long skirts are worn to show respect for the grass, Mother Earth, and the women themselves. Women on their moon time (menstruation) do not carry the water during this time, as they are already in their own ceremony.nibiwalk+1youtube

Men carry the eagle feather staff during water walks, supporting the women in their water carrying. Tobacco offerings are made to any flowing streams or rivers crossed, and to honor any animals encountered along the roads or trails.nibiwalk

Katherine Morrisseau-Sinclair, inspired by Grandmother Mandamin, initiated the Lake Winnipeg Water Walk and has continued the tradition. She received the 2014 Champion for Sustainability award from the Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development in recognition of this work. Water walks have expanded across Western Canada, with communities organizing walks around their local lakes and rivers, maintaining the ceremonial protocols while addressing region-specific water issues.decolonizingwater+2

Ceremonial Protocols and Water Teachings

Water ceremonies in Western Canadian Indigenous communities involve gathering for multiple days to pray for the waters. The Great Water Gathering, held at Lone Island in Manitoba's Whiteshell Provincial Park, brings together Anishinaabe people from across Canada to pray, share traditional knowledge, and determine how to move forward together in protecting waters.cbc

Elders share traditional teachings about water during these gatherings. The principle teaching is that water is alive—a living, sentient being with spirit. This understanding fundamentally differs from Western conceptions of water as a resource. Indigenous teachings emphasize that water can both give and take life, and therefore commands deep respect.waterfirst+3

When approaching water, traditional protocols teach people to move quietly and respectfully, never to run up to a river, lake, or stream. Water should be honored and greeted with gratitude. Offerings such as berries, food, or tobacco are given as a way of saying thanks to spirit helpers and water spirits.jennywonderling+1

The sweat lodge ceremony incorporates water as a central element. The lodge itself is dome-shaped, resembling a pregnant woman's womb. Participants enter this sacred space to pray, cleanse themselves, and be safe—just as they were safe in their mother's womb. Hot stones (grandfathers) are brought to the center, and water is poured on them to create steam. All four elements are present: earth below, fire in the grandfathers, air around the fire, and water in the steam.sdwf.squarespace+1

Contemporary Activism and Youth Leadership

Indigenous water songs have become anthems for contemporary environmental movements defending water from pollution, pipelines, and climate change. The Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 brought international attention to water protection, with music serving as a crucial element in fostering spiritual resistance. Songs like Frank Waln's "Oil 4 Blood" and Pura Fé's "Idle No More" have become rallying cries for Indigenous land and water defense across North America.undisciplinedenvironments

In Canada, the Idle No More movement sparked performances, round dances, and pow wows in public places, calling for respect of Indigenous rights and sovereignty. The movement's stance against resource exploitation on First Nations lands has been amplified through music that reaches far beyond Indigenous communities.undisciplinedenvironments

Perhaps no figure better represents the intersection of water songs, traditional teachings, and youth activism than Autumn Peltier. Born in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island (the same community as Grandmother Mandamin, who was Autumn's aunt), Peltier began advocating for clean drinking water around age eight. At 13, she addressed the United Nations General Assembly, delivering a powerful speech calling for global action on water contamination and access to clean water. At 18, she became Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation.uujmca+2

Peltier explicitly connects her activism to her Indigenous identity and water teachings: "I speak for the water because water is alive, and she does have a spirit, and she hurts every day because of what people are doing today in the world." Her message emphasizes that protecting water is part of what it means to be Indigenous: "I am from this land. My ancestors are buried here on this land. This land is our land, and it's part of me and part of everything I am and everything I do."cbc

Respectful Engagement for Non-Indigenous People

The question of how non-Indigenous people can respectfully engage with Indigenous water songs requires careful consideration of protocol, permission, and relationship-building. Some songs, like the Ojibwe Nibi Song and the Algonquin Water Song, have been explicitly gifted for widespread sharing, with the families granting permission for anyone to learn and sing them. These songs were created with the intention of spreading water gratitude and consciousness globally.the-wild-soul-tribe+1

However, not all Indigenous songs, ceremonies, and teachings are meant for public sharing. Elders determine what is acceptable to share publicly and what constitutes sacred knowledge that should only be shared within the context of ceremony. As noted in Indigenous protocols for knowledge sharing, there are different guidelines for sharing internally within a community versus sharing with outsiders.edu.gov+1

For non-Indigenous people wishing to engage respectfully with water songs, several principles emerge from the research:

Seek Permission and Education: Before learning or performing Indigenous songs, understand whether permission has been granted for public sharing. Engage with the educational context and teachings that accompany the songs, rather than extracting them from their cultural meaning.hydroimpacted+1

Honor the Relationships: Indigenous knowledge is relational and contextual. Water songs emerge from specific relationships between peoples, lands, and waters. Approach these songs with understanding that they represent complex knowledge systems, not simply aesthetic or musical expressions.ipcaknowledgebasket+1

Support Indigenous Leadership: When engaging with water protection movements, center Indigenous voices and leadership. Support organizations led by Indigenous water protectors rather than speaking over or for Indigenous communities.wikipedia

Understand Sacred Context: Recognize that many water teachings are sacred and ceremonial. Some knowledge is only meant to be shared in specific contexts with appropriate protocols. Respect boundaries around what is and isn't meant for public consumption.evergreen+1

Practice Reciprocity: In Indigenous knowledge systems, learning involves reciprocal relationships. If you benefit from water teachings, consider how you can support Indigenous water sovereignty, contribute to water protection efforts, and honor the knowledge keepers who share these gifts.harvest.usask+1

The Urgency of Water Protection

The proliferation of water songs and water activism reflects an urgent crisis. Many First Nations communities in Western Canada continue to live under long-term boil water advisories, some lasting over a decade. The Middle River community of Tl'azt'en First Nation in northern British Columbia lived under a boil water advisory for 14 years before finally celebrating clean water in 2018. The remote Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation had never been able to drink tap water in either their current location or their previous site from the 1980s relocation.cbc+1

These water crises exist within a broader context of environmental degradation affecting Indigenous lands. Industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, pipeline projects, mining operations, and climate change all threaten the waters that Indigenous communities have protected for countless generations. The contrast between Indigenous communities denied access to clean water and the general Canadian population with reliable water access represents what activists like Autumn Peltier have named environmental racism.wikipedia+2

Water songs carry both grief and hope—grief for what has been lost and damaged, and hope for healing and restoration. As contemporary artists like Spirit Trail express in their song "Water Protectors": "Water is our lifeblood, and it is our responsibility to care for and protect it before it is too late... There's no time to take lightly the degradation and poisoning of our sacred waters."rootsmusic

Conclusion

Indigenous water songs from Western Canada represent living traditions that bridge ancient teachings with contemporary activism. From the Ojibwe Nibi Song to Métis prayer songs, from Cree river tributes to Coast Salish anthems, these songs carry forward the fundamental teaching that water is alive, sacred, and deserving of protection.

The songs honor women as water carriers, drawing on the profound connection between women's role as life-givers and water's life-giving properties. They accompany ceremonies and water walks, transforming personal practice into collective action. They educate, activate, and inspire—reaching from remote First Nations communities to the United Nations, from intimate family teachings to global environmental movements.

Most importantly, these songs insist on a relationship with water that the dominant culture has largely forgotten: water as relative, water as sacred, water as living entity worthy of respect, gratitude, and fierce protection. In a time of climate crisis and ongoing water contamination in Indigenous communities, these songs offer both critique and vision—reminding us that another way of being with water is not only possible but necessary for the survival of all Creation, seven generations into the future.

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