Indigenous Water Forum: Two-Eyed Seeing for Transformative Water Stewardship
Date: Wednesday, 7 October 2026 | 10:30 – 12:00
Water is not a resource—it is life itself. Yet many dominant water regimes continue to operate through extractive, transactional paradigms that drive ecological degradation and deepen socio-environmental inequities.
The inaugural Indigenous Water Forum, an Indigenous-led platform within the International Water Association (IWA), introduces Two-Eyed Seeing as a decolonial epistemology and transformative framework for bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. Convened with leaders advancing reconciliation-informed practices, its charts the Forum responds to a critical gap: practical pathways that integrate Indigenous stewardship with contemporary water service delivery.
Description
Grounded in traditional worldviews and ontologies, the Forum invites critical reflection on the relationship between people, place and water, and the shared responsibilities that flow from this. Through ceremonial protocols, practitioner insights, and dialogue, participants will examine how Indigenous leaders and allies are transforming water operations, governance, and service delivery in real-world contexts.
The Forum challenges participants to rethink how water systems are designed, governed, and delivered. It also establishes a foundation for future Forums at the 2028 and 2030 World Water Congresses, supporting the growth of an Indigenous-led platform that enables global knowledge exchange and contributes to more just, sustainable and resilient systems worldwide.
Objectives
- Explain the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) and its relevance to water governance and service delivery, highlighting how it enables respectful integration of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems.
- Recognize the limitations of dominant water management paradigms and the need for relational, stewardship-based approaches centered on reciprocity, place-based knowledge, and intergenerational responsibility.
- Identify practical pathways for integrating Indigenous knowledge, leadership, and partnerships into water utilities and policy frameworks.
- Reflect on participants’ own roles and responsibilities in advancing more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive water systems.
Forum Session Schedule
| Session Agenda |
| Opening and Grounding in Water as Life |
| Why an Indigenous Water Forum? |
| Two-Eyed Seeing: Concept and Practice |
| Going Forward: Building a Community of Practice |
| Moderated Dialogue, Q&A and Closing |
