by Morgan BringsPlenty

The MniKi Wakan name means ‘Water is Sacred’ in Dakota. The Mni Ki Wakan Summit took place in the Dakota Territory, Mnisota Makoce, the land of misty and foggy waters, where the water reflects the sky. 

In Minneapolis, MN, at the McNamara Alumni Center, in Minneapolis, MN the third Mni Ki Wakan Summit kicked off on October 14-15, 2024, with the theme, “Confluence of Rising Currents: Indigenous Water Justice, Co-Governance, and Indigenous Youth Leadership.” The summit included partners such as Cultural Survival, Indigenous Peoples Rights International, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, UMN-Twin Cities American Indian Studies Department along with other sponsors and supporters that made the summit possible. 

The Indigenous Environmental Network attended the summit, sending a delegation of five youth to attend, led by me. We learned about water protection and rights on our land and discussed several other issues related to water, including youth involvement and engagement as a solution. During the plenary session on day one of the two-day summit, we learned about water justice and water health. Water justice recognizes water as a living entity, going beyond human-focused concepts of fairness, equity, and participation in water decision-making, and embraces relationality. Water health and water data are crucial for understanding and managing water protection, ecosystems, and Indigenous Peoples’ well-being. 

We also discussed how Indigenous sovereignty affirms our right to collect, own, and govern water data. We listened to a group of university students using water data to learn more about the waterways in their area, which I think everyone in their communities should do since the fossil fuels projects have used land that was unceded and near tribal lands as fair dumping sites or pipeline projects, etc. 

Another topic of discussion was water monitoring, and how it can ensure our reports on our own water aquifer levels, basin water, and quantity help our communities assess water health in their territory. Water data empowers Indigenous Peoples to make informed decisions, enhance water management, and improve overall watershed health. 

Our delegation also learned about Earth Law, such as the Rights of Nature, ecocide, animal rights, rights of future generations, Indigenous law, human environmental rights, and atmospheric trust litigation. Summit panelists shared a wealth of knowledge. We attended a panel on Indigenous Science, as we were inspired by some of the models discussed. Our delegation even discussed how we can replicate some of this in our communities of Cheyenne River and Standing Rock, where we can work with groups to share star knowledge, Lakota teachings, and values on the land. 

While some of our youth were shy in participating at first, we engaged deeply in various discussions and we continue to hold discussions on the strategies we learned could be brought back to our communities.