The Water Walker
Nokomis Josephine walks all across the country raising awareness for nibi (water).
Themes: Water, collective action, water activism, traditional knowledge
About the Author
Joanne Robertson is Anishinaabe kwe, bald eagle clan, and a member of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. She was adopted as a baby by her French/German/Canadian parents and raised on a farm in Southern Ontario. She was reunited with her Anishinaabe family in her twenties, and began helping Grandmother Josephine-ba Mandamin, The Water Walker, in 2011. Joanne received her degree in fine arts from Algoma University and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig at age 50. She continues to support water walks through live GPS spotting to ensure the water and walkers are safe. Joanne lives, writes and draws beside the Goulais River in Ontario, Canada.
Discussion Questions
Do you like the water?
What are some things that water does for you in your life?
Is there a special body of water near your home?
Nokomis travels a long way walking for the water. What is the farthest you’ve been from home and why?
What are some threats to the health of the water? Try to think of some things that you can do in your life to help.
Nokomis and the Mother Earth Water Walkers wear sneakers to help them walk around the Great Lakes. What is a tool in your life that helps you reach your goals?
Nokomis and the Mother Earth Water Walkers walk all the way around the Great Lakes.
How many of the Great Lakes have you been to?
How are the Great Lakes important to your life?
How might they be important to the Ojibwe specifically?
Learning Activities
- Look up where the closest lake, river, or ocean is to you. Try to organize a trip with your family, friends, or school group to go there and thank the water.
- Follow the information in the back of the book and send a letter to the real-life Nokomis, Josephine Mandamin.
Explore More
- The Mother Earth Water Walk website.
- Read Nibi is Water, Nibi Aawon Nbiish, written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson (translated by Shirley Williams and Isadore Toulouse), a book for younger children about the value of water.
- Read Young Water Protectors: A Story about Standing Rock by Aslan and Kelly Tudor to learn about indigenous activism to protect water and resources from a child’s perspective.
- Read River of Salmon Peoples by Jeannette Armstrong and Gerry William to learn about the immense value of a river for a First Nations community.
Ojibwa Grandmother recounts walk around the Great Lakes
James Vukelich, ‘Kaagegaabaw,’ a Native American speaker, educator & linguist, explores the ancient Ojibwe word for water, “Nibi ᓂᐱ “.