Waterways Caretakers—Teresa Snow

Rituals, traditional practices, and the responsibility to Mni (Water)

Bow River. Image © Teresa Snow, 2023.

Umba wathetch; Hello My Relatives,

My traditional names are Pretty Eagle Woman (Wagena Wastey Wiya) and Cold Water Woman(MniThni Wiya). My given name is Teresa Snow.  My paternal ancestry is that of Iyarhe Nakoda (Stoney, as a name given by settlers to us). My maternal ancestry is Yuma Quechan. I have been raised here in the Rocky Mountains and continue to live here with my grandchildren.

The area we live in is known as MniThni. This means Cold Water which refers to the Bow River. As people who live in this area, we have creation stores linked to the waterways in these sacred mountains. Since time immemorial, we have lived among the mountains to practice and maintain our connection to them.

We are the caretakers of the waterways. My connection to this is found in my name, MniThni Wiya. This name gives meaning to my life and my responsibility.  I am granted the responsibility as a “Water Woman”. In that meaning. I am entrusted to pray for the water that gives life to all forms be it Makoche (Mother Earth) or the four legged, the winged ones or our two-legged brothers and sisters. 

Ritual and traditional practices are intersections of all life forms that come together upon the land in a collaborative dance with cosmology, Makoche and Mni. These rituals have a life, a pattern, a cyclical in nature as they are not only passed down through the generations of humankind but through the generational pathway of the animals, elements, cosmos and that of Makoche. As time carries on, these practices are renewed in water ceremonies. The ritual is twofold, we as humans need Mni (water) for life, renewal and healing, but we also need to honor that life by providing a ceremony for water’s spirit and existence, prompting continuity within this earthly realm.

We are in a time in which we have two currents, one to be able to continue these rituals and the other is to have it eliminated by the continued actions of mankind and industry.

We must continue the ritual and traditional practices, and enlist the youth to become aware of their innate connection and responsibility to Mni (Water). It is also for their wellness because it is itself a renewal of health be it physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

We must reject inorganic rituals created by man.

We must be active in elevating a consciousness of water sovereignty and water security.

If we do not change the current flow of our actions and inaction, we will end up right where we are headed.

This essay is part of the Rituals Series seeking to understand what is urgent about a place that could be addressed by a ritual.

Guest Editor: Greves Pouchette