Water is Life: A Conversation with Easkey Britton and Mary Anne Caibaiosai

Water is elemental and essential to all life.

Join us as we engage in conversation with two inspiring people dedicated to the stewardship of waters.  In this conversation will be Mary Anne Caibaiosai, Bear Clan Anishnaabe kwe from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, a respected Indigenous community helper renowned for her work on water protection of rivers and great lakes of Turtle Island (https://www.grandriverwaterwalk.com/)  and Dr Easkey Britton (https://easkeybritton.com/), author of ‘Saltwater in the Blood’, ‘Ebb and Flow’ and an avid surfer and Ocean Scientist in Ireland.

We will explore together the gift and challenge of our present realities as it affects Waters all around the world. We are challenged to pay attention not only to the rules and regulations around water use but our attitudes towards this life-giving and life-enhancing element of our planet. You are welcome to join in the conversation of ancient wisdom, modern reality and the call to the changes urgently needed for the well-being of all creation and all nations.

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Mary Anne Caibaiosai

Anishnaabe Knowledge Holder, Artist, Counsellor

PhD Candidate

Aanii, Boozhoo. Nodin Ikwe ndizhnikaaz, mkwa ndodem. Wiikwemkoong Manido minising ndoonji. Warsaw megwa ndidaa.  My English name is Mary Anne Caibaiosai. I am Ojibwe-Anishinaabe kwe Bear clan from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island. I am a helper in the community and carry teachings gifted by Anishinaabe Elders and traditional teachers. I am a counsellor, teacher in cultural teachings, circle and workshop facilitator and practice ceremonies. It is an honour to speak on behalf of the water, to teach about our shared responsibility for the land, and guide those who work to develop positive relationships.

I was given the water-walk teachings, protocols and blessings from our first Anishinaabe Water walker known for her tireless work for the water. I am honoured to follow in her footsteps and to continue her work in walking for, praying for and raising awareness of the sacredness and importance of water.

In addition to that work, I carry a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University; a Bachelor of First Nations and Aboriginal Counselling degree from Brandon University and am pursuing a PhD Indigenous Studies Degree at Trent University in Peterborough. I am now a PhD Candidate.

Easkey Britton

Dr Easkey Britton is a surfer, writer, artist, filmmaker, coach and marine social scientist, with a PhD in Environment and Society. A lifelong surfer, she was

taught to surf at the age of four, and she now channels her passion for the sea and surfing into social change. Her promotion of female surfing in Iran is explored in her TEDx talk 'Just Add Surf' and the award-winning documentary Into the Sea. She is the author of Saltwater in the Blood (Watkins, 2021) and Ebb and Flow (2023).

EBB & FLOW

Connect with the Patterns and Power of Water

Blue health is a current buzzword but the quest to seek the healing benefits of water will fail if we approach water as just another resource or commodity. Ebb & Flow guides us in restoring a more intimate and sacred connection with the planet’s seas, rivers and lakes. It shows us how to become water protectors, and how to live with flow and a more sensuous understanding of nature.

Indigenous science has always known that water is spirit, the source of all life. The story of our human life begins in water. Renewing our sacred relationship with water is essential if we are to heal the waters of the world and heal ourselves too.