Canada Foundation for Innovation

Canada Foundation for Innovation


10,000 ways | Should bodies of water have the same legal status as people?

March 15, 2024

This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery.

Researcher Kelsey Leonard, member of the Shinnecock Nation and founder of the Wampum Lab at the University of Waterloo, delves into ocean, water and climate justice.

Shinnecock is a dialect derived from the Algonquian language. It means “people of the stony shores.” It’s along the stony shores of the Shinnecock Nation, on the Atlantic-facing eastern coast of New York’s Long Island that Kelsey Leonard developed her passion for the water. Undergraduate studies took her to Samoa and graduate studies brought her to the University of Waterloo, where she is now the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Kelsey Leonard’s website (including her popular TEDTalkWhy lakes and rivers should have the same rights as humans)

WAMPUM lab: An Indigenous framework to advance water security in the face of sea level rise

Find out more about the heritage of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their connection to the sea