Gathering for Indigenous Water Justice & Global Collaboration to Take Place

Gathering for Indigenous Water Justice & Global Collaboration to Take Place on August 15-17 in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

On August 15-17, MKW Co-conveners, Cultural Survival, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, Thunder Valley CDC, the UN Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, and partners will convene the Mni Ki Wakan (Water is Sacred) Summit, themed, “Indigenous Water Justice, Global Collaboration, & Dismantling Water Colonialism,” in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. The MKW Summit will bring together Indigenous Peoples, youth, Tribal water and environmental departments, Indigenous environmental water organizations, and allies. The MKW Summit is a pillar of the Indigenous Water Decade that connects the dynamic and diverse water work of Indigenous Peoples and youth, it was first announced in 2016 at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). Since then, the MKW team has engaged in local/transnational partnerships, initiatives, and research providing MKW Summit Report informed water interventions at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva, Switzerland.

Registration for the MKW Summit is now open. There is no registration fee for community members. Go to mnikiwakan.org to learn more.

About author

Wakinyan LaPointe is a Mni Ki Wakan Co-convener and Sicangu Lakota citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He is a Ph.D. student, holds a Master of Nonprofit Management, and is a 2023 United Nations Indigenous Programme Fellow.