Bringing Water From the Four Directions
As we honour the Spirit of Water at the CWRA 2026 Conference, we warmly invite you to bring a small amount of water (approx. 50 ml) from a water body within your region or territory. By joining us in ceremony, you help acknowledge the significance of that water, unite it with waters from other places, and offer good spirit and intention to it. We extend this invitation to bring water from four directions together in ceremony. We remember when in 2011, Josephine Mandamin-iban called Indigenous women across Turtle Island to walk with their waters. Through dream, she was asked to help Nibi, water. This year, we ask you to bring water as we seek to understand and honour her, Nibi.
Bringing water from the four directions honors the interconnectedness of all life. Through ceremony, we will respect our relationship with the land, the winds, and all others that are dependent on water. We will honour spring, fresh, salt, birth, aquifer and all waters be they healthy or sick.
Indigenous peoples from each of the four directions – East, South, West, and North – hold teachings, songs and ceremonies honouring water, the giver of life. As we gather to share our knowledges, our waters will be with us. Let us listen to one another in a good way.
In support of the ceremony, acknowledge/label your water source. You may place your water vial according to your direction when called upon. The waters will be poured into a single bowl or vessel through ceremony of our collective design. This blending symbolizes the unity of all teachings, the balance of the four directions, and the interconnected nature of life. It reflects the idea that healing or prayer requires the presence and harmony of all directions from which we come. It is primarily, our human activity that has created harm.
At the end of our gathering, participants may return home with some of the combined waters, to be returned to where they collected their original waters from or offered back to earth.
Our request is that at this year’s CWRA conference, all participants bring water from their territory/region if they choose. Join us in ceremony to honour and respect the Spirit of Water. In doing so, the gathered water can be present while we share knowledge and perspectives throughout the conference and help carry good spirit to those teachings, creating a safe and welcoming space for learning and listening.
