A conference about drinking water was held at the Howard Buffalo Memorial Centre in Maskwacis yesterday on how water makes its way into the surrounding four nations and the treatment process behind it all.
Mario Swampy, Samson Cree Nation Councilor and Nipiy Chairman, spoke at the conference to provide information and closure to locals about "all things water."
"It's quite a complex issue. You can't capture it from a political level, you have to talk about it from a spiritual, historical, Treaty and legal standpoint. In order to do it justice, you have to bring the right people to the table to have a conversation", Swampy said.
At the conference, Swampy talked about the future of water in Maskwacis and the surrounding areas, saying that having conversations about upgraded water lines is "not as simple as we would like it to be."
During the conference, Swampy mentioned that there are new water pipelines planned to come to Maskwacis and the surrounding four nations from the Red Deer Waterline. He said that there's still for a firm timeline on when the pipelines will be placed.
The word "Nipiy" was used a lot during the afternoon of education and information. It has different, and very deep meanings.
"It's a derivative of two words Cree words: 'I am life' and 'water is life,'" Swampy says, adding that the purpose of those words is to not "say it as a catchphrase," but to be "reflective of how we are stewards of water, how we respect water, how we access water, and how we keep it clean and safe."
Listen to the full CFWE interview below with Mario Swampy: