The sounds of drums and voices rose above the noise of downtown traffic. On June 15, under a clear sky streaked with prairie sun, people gathered outside Calgary City Hall, some with hand-painted signs, some with children in tow, others wrapped in ribbon skirts and keffiyehs.
Within a larger designated protest space filled with diverse groups, the Hands Off Our Water rally brought together Indigenous peoples from Treaty 7 territory, grassroots organizers, migrant justice activists and environmental advocates in a powerful display of resistance. Organized by the Calgary Climate Hub in partnership with Keepers of the Water, Indigenous Climate Action, Piikani Nation members, Migrante Alberta, Jubilee, Justice for Palestinians, CUPE and others, the collaborative event mobilized a coalition as interconnected and intersectional as the crisis at hand.
Diplomacy in the mountains, resistance in the city
Eighty-six kilometers away in Kananaskis, secluded behind security checkpoints and RCMP roadblocks, the annual G7 summit was underway. Situated in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta and home to diverse First Nations communities (such as the Blackfoot Confederacy Nations, the Stoney Nakoda Nations and the Tsuut’ina First Nation), the scenic mountain resort town served as a fortress for the political leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries as they gathered to discuss global economic priorities.
For many watching from beyond the barricades, however, this year’s G7 felt disconnected from the urgent realities facing communities on the ground. Amid this spectacle of diplomacy, the Hands Off Our Water rally offered a stark counterpoint, alongside other contingencies which included demonstrators calling out ongoing human rights violations and war crimes being committed in Tigray, Palestine and Kashmir.
Diverse groups and local community members in Calgary come together to make their voices heard while the G7 summit is in full swing.
“It was really cool that there were multiple issues being experienced across the world and that we were all here to say something about it. People were willing to show up for themselves [and] their communities. This wasn’t a standalone event [but] a continuation of a larger movement,” says Talynn English of the Calgary Climate Hub.
Hands off our water!
Speakers on the steps of Calgary’s municipal plaza called attention to long-standing water degradation, the legacy of extractive industry and the continued denial of Indigenous communities’ right to clean, safe and self-governed water. From contaminated wells to delayed boil-water advisories, the systemic failure to empower Indigenous communities persists. And now, with legislation like Bill C-5 threatening to sideline environmental assessments and constitutionally enshrined Indigenous rights, many fear things could get worse by putting public health and safety at risk.
“There was a speaker from Piikani Nation who was speaking about water contamination and the impacts of fast-tracking fossil fuel projects and how these threaten our water systems,” explains Talynn, referring to the sweeping powers Bill C-5 would grant federal cabinet to designate infrastructure projects in the ‘national interest’ and override the consultation processes meant to guarantee Indigenous sovereignty and protect ecological health.
Indigenous community members and allies raise banners calling for Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice and the protection of water and land.
Speakers went on to draw a direct link between international neglect and local harm. Decisions made in places like Kananaskis ripple outward, through weakened protections and safeguards imposed by legislation like Bill C-5, through underfunded infrastructure in Indigenous communities and through a failure to confront the underlying causes of the climate crisis that stem from colonialism and capitalism.
As much as the rally was a critique of government and corporate failure, however, it was also a call to recognize and affirm Indigenous leadership that has long offered models of care, stewardship and resistance.
The theme of Indigenous water governance, central to the rally’s message, was first brought forward to the Calgary Hub by the Chief Steering Committee (CSC), an Alberta-based group voicing concerns about Canada's proposed clean water legislation for First Nations communities. Though the CSC had to step back due to unforeseen circumstances, the rally’s organizers proceeded with this theme with guidance from other Indigenous partners committed to the same vision.
“One thing that some of the speakers [talked] about was around looking to Indigenous climate leadership as climate leadership, period,” Talynn recalls, noting how the theme echoed throughout the rally both in word and spirit. “Indigenous communities have always been at the forefront of climate solutions, so looking to these knowledges within academia, within political institutions, within nonprofit organizations has to be a priority.”
You can read Indigenous Climate Action’s recent report, Landback is climate policy, that underscores the importance of reconnection to the land, culture and language in climate policy.
Protecting what sustains us all
As the crowds thinned and the drums fell quiet, one thing lingered in the air: a sense of shared responsibility. Not just to bear witness, but to act, speak up and protect what sustains us all, because it is something that simply cannot be sacrificed for pipelines, profit or political convenience.
“This [coalition effort] was an opportunity for us to continue envisioning ways out of these systems. It was also an opportunity for organizers who are non-Indigenous to really focus our work on Indigenous determination and governance,” Talynn reflects. For her, the importance of listening to Indigenous leaders and community members without assuming you know anything, as well as being accountable to your words and actions, precedes all else when organizing collaboratively.
An attendee of the rally holds up a hand-painted sign that says “Protect our waters.”
At the end of the day, that’s what Hands Off Our Water was about: not just awareness, but accountability. The kind that goes beyond summit talking points or press releases. The kind that acknowledges harm and starts shifting power away from empty rhetoric, toward land-backed leadership. Because water must never be a bargaining chip at the negotiating table of global elites; it is life itself, and there can be no justice without protecting it.
Building momentum: From June 15 to September 20 and beyond
A couple of months later, organizers continue to reflect on the lessons of June 15 and how it might shape the road ahead. From the interwoven issues raised by speakers — landback, water protection, environmental deregulation and more — to the power of broad-based coalition work, the rally was both a moment of clarity in the broader fight for justice and a blueprint for how we move forward.
“This is the largest collaborative action that we've ever undertaken [as a Hub],” reflects Jared Blustein, Executive Director of the Calgary Climate Hub. “What it's done for me is firmly rooted my intention to continue building collaborations like this in a really clear and meaningful way.”
And that clarity came from listening first. From the start, organizers were advised not to brand the rally — no logos, no banners, no organizational spotlight — in order to uphold Indigenous voices and water justice as the central focus.
“In some ways, maybe it was a missed opportunity... the media was a bit confused,” Jared laughs. “There were all of these different groups that we built this large coalition from. We told all of them: ‘it's totally fine if you want to talk, but you need to ground whatever you're talking about in the issue of water security and Indigenous right to determination.’ That was really powerful for us in that we were able to weave together an intersectionality of issues through this core issue of Indigenous rights.”
That clarity also meant learning to slow down and adapt to different modes of organizing. “If you really want to meaningfully collaborate [with Indigenous groups], it means starting early and moving slowly in every way,” Jared says. “There's protocol, there's time that it takes, there's people that need to be consulted and talked to. You need to be humble and wait for direction, do the appropriate protocol and let go of some of that high-efficiency, high-output ideal that many of us have inside of us.” Working closely with trusted partners from Tsuut’ina Nation, Piikani Nation and Métis collaborators helped the Hub and others build deeper trust, broaden their networks and understand how to show up in more respectful and reciprocal ways.
Naturally, there were also moments of discomfort and difference that Jared learned to embrace rather than avoid. “One of the most important things in a coalition like this is that we can’t be conflict-averse,” he explains. “It’s natural that people are passionate about things and bringing a lot of care and energy to them. [We have to] recognize that we're ultimately all working towards the same thing... and you have to make sure you're [asking yourself]: ‘Is this about the cause? Is this about building meaningful equity and meaningful coalition, or is this just about you getting your way?’”
That’s what made June 15 feel different: a reminder that transformative organizing happens not just when people show up, but when they’re willing to build together across complex — and sometimes complicated — identities, histories and perspectives.
What we witnessed outside Calgary City Hall during the G7 Summit was a display of intersectional grassroots power — a moment where Indigenous leaders, climate activists, frontline defenders, youth, labour organizers, migrant groups and health advocates came together to demand more than policy tweaks. They called for justice. For a livable future. For a reimagining of power that starts with centering Indigenous rights and care for the land.
“The G7 is a big international event,” Jared notes, “but we’re still not providing basic necessities to many of the world’s populations — often Indigenous, BIPOC or equity-deserving communities. What better way to show that than by uplifting the voices of the people most affected?”
That’s why the coalition behind Hands Off Our Water sees this as a beginning, not a one-off. During their coordination calls leading up to the rally, organizers repeated the same phrase: “this is just the beginning.” That same energy carried into their post-rally debrief, and it continues today.
So what comes next?
This September, many of the same groups that stood together in Calgary will mobilize again. The Draw the Line Day of Action on September 20 — part of a nationwide call coordinated by a progressive coalition of climate, labour, peace and migrants rights groups — will confront corporate greed, colonial policies and climate breakdown with collective resistance from communities coast to coast.
With COP30 and the tabling of the first federal budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney on the horizon, it’s a critical moment to make our voices heard. Join us on the streets this September as we unite across the country to:
💰Shut down corporate power. Fund our communities.
🌾 Shut down ongoing colonialism. Uphold Indigenous sovereignty.
🛑 Shut down anti-immigrant racism. Fight for migrant justice.
🕊 Shut down the war machine. Stand for peace.
🌍 Shut down fossil fuels. Protect Mother Earth.
Together, we are stronger, building unstoppable momentum from the streets of Calgary to every corner of this land. Will you draw the line with us?
Follow and support the Indigenous-led water conservation efforts of Keepers of the Water, Indigenous Climate Action and the Piikani Nation.
Browse through Indigenous educational and environmental resources by Keepers of the Water.
Learn more about the September 20 Day of Action. If you’re interested in getting directly involved, check out the September 20 Draw the Line Action Toolkit.