By drawing a parallel between the natural cycles of water and human development, the Ways of Water framework acknowledges the interdependence that exists between all living things and our natural world. It also acknowledges that to heal the impacts of colonization, we need to re-establish our relationships with ourselves, each other, and with our natural and human-created systems.
Water is the source and lifeblood of ecosystems and all living beings. We are water. Water connects us. Building relationships is the focus of phase I. By acknowledging the source – the origins of the system – and our place in it, we explore the diverse knowledge systems - worldviews, values, attitudes, and belief systems – that each of us brings into the space. Creating a safe space to share and learn allows us to generate a holistic and share understanding of the system to be transformed.
The sun drives water to evaporate and transpire from surface waters such as the seas, rivers, and streams, and from living things. This phase is a time to gather information, learn from others, and explore what everyone has to contribute. Just as water condenses and evaporates, forming clouds, there is cohesion in the group, and the information has been gathered to determine the pathway forward.
As rain showers the earth, it brings new life, nurturing plants, flowing into washes and streams, seeping into the land well below its surface. In this phase, our interdependence is revealed, and we recognize the value of working together towards a shared goal of strengthening systems.
As water returns, rivers, lakes, and oceans swell. Their levels rise. Rain and melted snow soak into the soil, moving downward, and recharging the underground layers. Over millennia, Indigenous Peoples have used practices to slow water flow, allowing it to seep back into Mother Earth to regenerate Her aquifers.
In this way, this phase is the culmination of the preceding phases. A completion of a cycle, allowing time for new ideas to integrate, transforming the system, and giving life to a new cycle. In this phase, we commit to the change and to a new cycle.
Download the Ways of Water: An Indigenous Framework for Systems Transformation resource to learn more about water phases and the transformational process.
Our ancestral homelands and cultural ties are in the Southwest, United States. Since 2014, we have been based in Aotearoa/New Zealand, on the homelands of the Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga iwi (tribes).
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