Who is water? Breaching epistemological barriers to deal with ecological problems

An interview with Dr.Kelsey Leonard. Water scientist and protector

For Diciassette this is the month dedicated to #SDG6
Ensuring access to #CleanWaterAndSanitation is a paramount objective.

However, we must first ask what is water … or maybe #Who is water?

What we are witnessing now is an #ecologicalcrisis – to face it we need a #paradigmshift.

• Why water?
• Is it possible to combine legal knowledge with activism? How?
• “Water racism” and “water-colonialism”. What are we speaking about?
• What does it mean to be a woman, and indigenous person and an activist at the same time?

As a water scientist and protector, Kelsey Leonard seeks to establish Indigenous traditions of water conservation as the foundation for international water policy-making.

Dr. Kelsey Leonard represents the Shinnecock Indian Nation on the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean, which is charged with protecting America’s ocean ecosystems and coastlines. She also serves as a member of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission.

Dr. Leonard has been instrumental in safeguarding the interests of Indigenous Nations for environmental planning and builds Indigenous science and knowledge into new solutions for water governance and sustainable oceans.