Give in to Hope Day 32: Autumn Peltier

We have already touched on access to clean water being a human right, as well as the young activists who are working to center Indigenous communities in environmental justice work. Autumn Peltier, a member of the Anishnabek Nation in Ontario, Canada, is a young climate activist who is not afraid to go toe to toe with powerful people in her fight to protect the water. She criticized Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to his face for his support of oil pipelines that run through First Nations lands, and challenged him to have more Indigenous voices included in conversations about Canada’s environment. She is considered the Chief Water Protector of her people, a title she was passed down from her aunt, another climate activist and Water Protector. As comfortable talking with world leaders as she is to her followers on Instagram, Autumn is charismatic and committed to reclaiming our sacred connection to water, the source of all life.

To learn more about Autumn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A33XRMLBbOc

Save the date! Plymouth will be doing our own Water Pilgrimage, to Lake of the Isles, on Sunday June 6th. This will be an intergenerational event focused on reconnecting ourselves with the source of all life, water. This event will be co-sponsored by the Plymouth Contemplatives, the Board of Spiritual Formation, and the Committee for Children, Youth and Families. Stay tuned for more info!

Let’s make a list of all of the things we do from the time we get up until we eat breakfast that use water–I bet almost every activity involves water in some way! What would it be like if the water we drink, clean with, cook with, and bathe in wasn’t safe. How does it make you feel that not everyone has access to safe, clean water?

Dear God, We thank you for water, which everyone and everything needs. We are all connected to the water. Amen.