– and Questions About 2024
(L to R) Aana Edmondson, Camille Calimlim Touton, Lorelei Cloud, Daryl Vigil, Sharon Megdal, Michelle Brown-Yazzie, Erina Watene, Leslie ”Phil” Duncan
I recently returned from attending Stockholm World Water Week (WWW), the annual international water conference organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Always an excellent conference, this one stood out for its heightened focus on Indigenous water knowledge, experiences, and communities. There had been some inclusion of Indigenous voices in last year’s WWW. In fact, it was there that I met Australian hydrologist Brad Moggridge, who gave a WRRC webinar in early 2023. However, noting the limited Indigenous presence in 2022, some colleagues engaged in some cross-continental brainstorming on session ideas, resulting in multiple Indigenous-focused session proposals that were accepted for the 2023 program. The Colorado River Basin was featured in the session “Indigenous Voices in Water Governance,” which was co-convened by the Water & Tribes Initiative | Colorado River Basin, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the WRRC. More about our session in a moment.