In First Nations like mine, the water crisis never really ends – The Narwhal

April 16, 2025

The federal government promised to end long-term water advisories on First Nations reserves — but many Indigenous communities cope with a constant cycle of temporary advisories, with no fix in sight

When I visited my reserve, Moose Factory, for the first time since I was two, one of the first things I did was hike through the bushes to a secluded beach along the Moose River. I was later told that the first thing Sixties Scoop adoptees taken from their homelands do is find water. In many Indigenous cultures, water is sacred because it is where life begins, so it makes sense that those who have been displaced — like me — would be drawn to the source.

It was the summer of 2022, and in the heat of the day, I walked to the Quick Stop gas station to get a slushie. The gentleman behind the counter told me that slushies were unavailable because the community was under a boil water advisory. Anything that required water, including making coffee and cooking food, was shut down until the advisory was lifted.