California Indian Water Commission

About the California Indian Water Commission

The Commission provides Tribes, (federally and non-federally recognized), Tribal People, and communities residing in California to have a voice in water planning, protection of our sacred water, and educating the public about Tribal water rights, and traditional cultural ecological stewardship.

VISION: Our vision is to further develop and educate our Tribal-Public communities according to Traditional cultural beliefs on the water and land issues that impact Tribes.  We work to preserve the water and traditional cultural landscapes and to prevent its existing and future degradation. footnote # 1

1. Initiate and facilitate interaction and communication to prevent its degradation.
2. Establish effective stewardship of water and natural resources.
3. Recommend and identify enforcement and strategies with respect to each unique culture and environmental ecosystems (monitoring). footnote # 2
4. Develop and assist water and ecosystems back to their healthy capacity.
5. Assist Tribes and its membership and communities when requested.  To educate and advocate traditional core values with respect to their individual unique world view and customs.  To acknowledge sovereign rights and incorporate traditional environmental ecological knowledge.  This would be inclusive of socio-economic, cultural, environmental and Spiritual aspects.
6. Provide access to tecchnological resources to assist in their water management.
7. Defend and advocate the rights of Tribes on local, federal, state and private water issues.

Footnotes:

1. Cultural Landscapes: [defined] An Aboriginal cultural landscape is a place valued by an Aboriginal group (or groups) because of their long and complex relationship with that land. It expresses their unity with the natural and spiritual environment. It embodies their traditional knowledge of spirits, places, land uses, and ecology. Material remains of the association may be prominent, but will often be minimal or absent. (excerpted from Parks Canada – www.pc.gc.ca   The Water Council vision will continue to evolve.

2. Term monitor on government and/or private projects is one of subjugation.  Subjugation is a process of oppressing California Tribal People by project managers, anthropologists, engineers, archeologists, biologists and other professional expert trades.