How has water governance shaped the Rainy–Lake of the Woods watershed, and what can its history teach us about caring for water today?
Join Dr. Johann Strube and Elder Priscilla Simard for an Ask an Expert webinar exploring the history of water governance and Anishinaabe Nibi Inakonigewin (Anishinaabe Water Law) in the watershed. Johann will trace how over the past 150 years human relationships with water in the basin were transformed to serve Settler colonization and reflect on how recent commitments towards reconciliation provide opportunities towards decolonization. Priscilla will talk about how she experienced these developments during her lifetime and through Oral History, and share Teachings about the Anishinaabe relationship to Nibi (Water).
The session will also highlight Grand Council Treaty #3’s water walks and offer a look ahead to its upcoming watershed governance gathering. Join us to learn, reflect, and ask questions about the decisions and relationships that shape our shared waters.
Dr. Johann Strube is a Water Governance Specialist with Grand Council Treaty #3. He holds a PhD in Rural Sociology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s degree in Landscape Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Johann’s academic work focuses on environmental justice, the political ecology of social reproduction, and the decolonization of relationships between humans and the non-human world. His doctoral thesis explored the impacts of water governance on Rainy Lake on Manoomin and Anishinaabe First Nations. As a Postdoctoral Fellow in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, Johann contributed to community-based research on Indigenous fisheries in the Far North. Previous research has explored peasant economies in New York, Italy, and Austria; the implementation of sustainability metrics in U.S. agriculture; and the siting of proposed oil and natural gas pipelines in the United States.
As a Water Governance Specialist, Johann supports the work of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 to implement Anishinaabe Nibi Inakonigewin (Anishinaabe Water Law), reviews water-related policy, and acts as a liaison to the local water governance boards and agencies. Johann is a Canadian section public member of the International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed Board of the International Joint Commission.
The ideas presented in this talk represent Johann’s academic work and may not necessarily reflect the position of Grand Council Treaty #3.
Elder Priscilla Simard is a respected Anishinaabe Elder from Couchiching First Nation, dedicated to cultural preservation, education, and community advocacy across the Treaty #3 territory and Fort Frances, Ontario. A passionate educator, Elder Simard was a teacher at Fort Frances High School.
As a previous member of the Grand Council Treaty #3 Women’s Council (Anishinaabe kwewag), she played a foundational role in researching, ceremony guiding, and establishing the historic Nibi (Water) Declaration, a sacred mandate protecting the relationship between Indigenous peoples and water.
Priscilla continues to provide spiritual and cultural leadership. She is frequently called upon to lead traditional ceremonies, prayers, and smudging for community organizations, justice initiatives, and child and family welfare systems. Her lifelong work remains dedicated to youth empowerment, environmental governance, and building culturally restorative practices across First Nations communities.
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