Connections: Water, Life & Shared History

The North Saskatchewan River has nurtured Indigenous Peoples and communities since time immemorial. 

Water is life. It has a spirit. It is sacred.  

These sentiments form part of the knowledge passed on from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and others from Indigenous Nations and communities.

The Connections: Water, Life and Shared History video series features stories from numerous Indigenous Nations and communities, archeologists and historians, and EPCOR employees. The series aims to recognize the historical and cultural significance of these lands by bringing these stories to life and highlighting the shared connection to water.

Watch the first of four videos in the Connections series, and view the rest on YouTube.

"We've always had an affinity to the rivers, to the lakes, for transportation, for fishing, hunting trapping," said Jerome Morin, Former Chief, Enoch Cree Nation on Treaty Six territory.

Josh Alexis of Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation on Treaty 6 territory added, “We have all come together to make this place. We are people of the land. Everything has a spirit. Everything has an energy. And, energy is life.” 

From its icy source at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Rocky Mountains to Hudson Bay, the waters of the North Saskatchewan River bring life across the land. For more than 10,000 years, people have travelled here for the water, to gather, to trade and to harvest, hunt, trap and fish.

The history of this land’s peoples tells stories of Indigenous Peoples, the legacies of their interaction with settlers, the development of Edmonton, and the people who continue to gather at the North Saskatchewan River valley today.

“There is a sacred kinship among our People of the belief that all things are connected: the universe, life, the land,” said Elder Wilton Goodstriker of Kainai Nation on Treaty 7 Territory, who is featured in the Water is Life episode.” “We’re all related in some way or another.”

Today, EPCOR’s water and wastewater treatment plants are located on these lands — the traditional territory of the Blackfoot, the Cree, the Dene, the Nakota Sioux, the Saulteaux, and later, the Métis.

The Connections video series includes four videos, each focused on a different aspect of the interwoven connection between the North Saskatchewan River and numerous communities; waterworks’ role in developing this region; how we work with Indigenous Peoples on reconciliation; and EPCOR’s approach to providing clean water and energy into the future.

“Indigenous Peoples have a strong connection to water, and we have been working hard to listen to and incorporate Indigenous values and principles in our work at the water treatment plants and across EPCOR,” said Vicki Campbell, Director, Water Treatment Plants. 

“In sharing these stories, it is our goal to respect the ancient footprints that have come before us, so we move forward into the future together.”  

Explore more information on EPCOR’s Indigenous relations and how we work collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples.