"When Grandma Josephine
journeyed on to the spirit world,
Autumn, her great-niece,
began to use her voice for me.
Autumn is the seventh generation.
She honors me through ceremony,
offering up asemaa and prayers
for my health and well-being.
I know Autumn, and Autumn knows me."
In a story that follows We Are the Water Protectors (Roaring Brook, 2020), the collaborators for this picture book biography celebrate the lives and legacies of Aunt Josephine Henrietta Mandamin and her great-niece Autumn Peltier, both Indigenous activists in the fight to protect the Earth's waters.
The water (nibi) tells its own story here. The Anishinaabe people did their best to revere and protect water until others came along with no concern for the water itself. As they brought machinery that destroyed the land, hurt the wildlife living there, and left pollution in their wake, the women had to work diligently to make their voices heard.
Josephine started the movement with a walk around the Great Lakes to bring attention to the problem. When she died, Autumn walked in her place to speak for the water. She spoke about her concerns and her reasons for being unhappy with the choices being made. She talked about the importance of water for life on Earth; she will never give up what her great-aunt started. People have started to listen; there is still much to be done.
"Speak for the water.
Sing for the water.
Dance for the water."
A foreword by Autumn Peltier prefaces the story, and back matter includes worthwhile information about Josephine Henriette Mandamin, Water Walker, and Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior. A glossary follows, as well as inspiration to keep learning.
“In our culture, we look at water as a living being, and we’re taught to treat it with the same respect we would show another human.”
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