Special water ceremony at Manitou Lake to immerse participants in healing

A special water ceremony, held the day after Summer Solstice, is immersing participants in their earliest experiences as human beings.

“It’s about being carried again. To teach your spirit to feel safe inside of your own body,” said Daphie Pooyak, water knowledge keeper and leader of the water ceremony.

“When we were inside our mother’s womb, we arrived in water. It was the safest place you felt.”

On Monday, June 22, the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association (SFNWA) are holding a special water ceremony at Big Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan. The ceremony is an opportunity to gather beside a sacred, natural mineral lake and experience teachings, reflection, prayer, and connection to water in meaningful way.

“When you go through a traumatic event, your soul and spirit no longer feels safe inside your own body. Swim therapy helps, but also we can go back to the water and ask the water spirit to carry us,” said Pooyak.

Participants will gather at a private area of the lake, where they will be invited to enter the water. Those attending the ceremony are asked to bring their own bathing suits, water shoes, towels, dry clothes, and drinking water.

The event is one of four SFNWA water ceremonies held annually, each set in a different season. SFNWA is an organization dedicated to empowering Indigenous water professionals and ensuring safe drinking water on First Nations. Their members are all water treatment operators and water monitors working on First Nations across Saskatchewan.

As the organization provides western-based education and certification for water-based professionals, they wanted to offer more traditional, Indigenous based teachings for both their members and the public.

“It’s important for us to provide a balance of First Nations teachings,” said Lisa Bains, SFNWA engagement coordinator.

“We hope participants can get a deeper understanding of the importance of water and reflect on their own relationships with water. And most importantly, we want them to carry these teachings back to their home communities.”