What is Ways of Water?

Ways of Water is and Indigenous Framework for Systems Transformation that aims to provide a practical guide for healing systems through a community-centered approach.

Ways of Water (WoW) is an Indigenous framework for leading systems transformation that fosters relational approaches through a four-phase, strengths-based, participatory process. It emerged from nearly two decades of collaboration with Indigenous Nations, organizations,and communities across Turtle Island and the Pacific.

Aleena M. Kawe is an Indigenous systems transformation leader dedicated to reimagining systems—from local to global—by centering Indigenous ways of knowing, relationality, and self-determination.

She believes meaningful, lasting change requires more than reform; it requires transforming systems to reflect Indigenous values, place-based knowledge, and community-defined priorities. Over three decades, Aleena has partnered with Indigenous communities across Turtle Island and the Pacific to advance health, well-being, and systems change.

Aleena is an enrolled member of the Texas Band of Yaqui Indians and holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in public health from the University of Arizona, where she was named Alumna of the Year in 2006.

As founder and CEO of Red Star International, she led the work that informed the creation of the first national Indigenous public health institute in the United States, earning her national recognition in 2018. Building on this experience, Aleena developed the Ways of Water (WoW) Indigenous Systems Transformation Framework, an approach inspired by the adaptability and interconnectedness of water. WoW supports communities in reclaiming Indigenous values, navigating the ongoing impacts of colonization, and leading systems transformation on their own terms across health, governance, climate, and other sectors.

For the past decade, Aleena has focused on strengthening Indigenous governance and fostering international knowledge exchange to address climate challenges and their impacts on health. Prior to Red Star International, she served as Education Director for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Administrator of the American Indian Research Center for Health at the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.

Aleena lives in Aotearoa/New Zealand where she supports her husband, Frank, in his efforts to promote traditional Polynesion sailing practices. Together, they work to affirm cultural identity, community connection, and our intrinsic relationship with the natural world.