We have the right to say no: Reflections from the Tar Sands Tailings Crisis Conference
On March 25–26, leaders, knowledge keepers, community members, and advocates gathered for the Tar Sands Tailings Crisis: Protecting Our Water Conference in Enoch, Alberta. Over two intense days of dialogue, learning, and reflection, one message became unmistakably clear: we have the right to say no.
The conference brought together First Nations leadership and community voices who are deeply concerned about the growing crisis surrounding tar sands tailings and the threat they pose to water, land, and life itself. Out of these discussions, the Chiefs Steering Committee began developing a Statement of Intentions, currently described as a rolling draft, intended to guide collective action to protect water resources and hold industry and governments accountable for environmental damage.
Throughout the gathering, participants repeatedly returned to twoa fundamental truths: we must save ourselves- no one will do this for us and we must do this together as First Nations People. Unity among First Nations is essential. Too often our communities are placed in situations where we are divided by policy, by pressure, or by competing interests. The call from the conference floor was clear. If we are to save ourselves, to protect our lands and waters, we must stand together rather than fight among ourselves.
Communities in northern regions are asking urgent and deeply personal questions. How safe is the food we harvest from the land? Are the animals we hunt and the fish we rely on still safe to eat if the waters that sustain them are contaminated by tar sands development and other industrial activity? These questions are not theoretical. Families are witnessing rising numbers of illnesses, including cancer, in their communities. Yet many participants stressed that proper medical and environmental studies have not been adequately conducted to fully understand the impacts.
The scale of the environmental challenge is staggering. It was shared at the conference that millions of barrels of toxic tailings waste are produced every day by the tar sands industry. These tailings contain chemicals and contaminants that pose serious risks to ecosystems and human health if they leak or seep into surrounding waterways.
What makes this even more troubling is that solutions do exist. There are scientifically proven technologies and natural methods capable of treating contaminated water and reducing environmental harm. However, many participants expressed frustration that industry often resists these options because they are more expensive. Protecting water, land, and human health should never be considered optional or secondary to profit.
The consequences of contamination are far-reaching. It is not only the water that suffers. Food systems, wildlife, land, and even air quality are affected, contributing to sickness among people, animals, and the broader web of life.
For Indigenous peoples, the issue is not simply environmental – —it is deeply spiritual and cultural. Water is not a commodity. Rivers are not simply resources to be used and discarded. Water is alive. It carries life, memory, and responsibility.
This leads to a deeper question about power and sovereignty. What kind of power do First Nations truly have if we are expected -or pressured -to say yes all the time? Consent loses meaning if refusal is never an option.
Our power also lies in our ability to say no.
Saying no is about protecting life. It is about safeguarding water for future generations. It is about honouring the responsibilities that Indigenous peoples have carried since time immemorial to care for the land and waters that sustain all living beings.
The work ahead will require courage, unity, and determination. But as many voices at the conference reminded us, protecting the water is not only an Indigenous responsibility, it is a shared responsibility to the entire world.
By Murray Pruden
Director of Indigenous Rights
