First Nations' water sustainability and Security Strategy: Tools and methodologies for community-driven processes for water treatment in Indigenous communities

Co-design of water services and infrastructure for Indigenous Canada: A scoping review

“…The gap between trust in conventional design versus co-design is wide in this study context as it is in other contexts (Forlano and Mathew 2014;Nelson-Barber and Johnson 2016;Khovanskaya et al 2017). Evidence also supports the idea that communities do not believe that infrastructure controlled by outside sources and not informed by the community can succeed (Boyd 2011;Martín 2014;Dyck et al 2015;Black and McBean 2017). Similarly, there seems to be a reluctance by industry to adapt their procedures to include listening to the voice of the community at all stages in the design process, let alone supporting community members to drive the co-design process in a decolonized way (Bhat 2015;Black and McBean 2017;Joyce 2017).…”

“…The development of water infrastructure, regardless of the design process, is associated with improving the health and quality of life of communities, but problems can arise with ongoing operation and maintenance (McCullough and Farahbakhsh 2012;Basdeo and Bharadwaj 2013;Black and McBean 2017). Current policies on the design and installation of water infrastructure reinforce ongoing colonization and strain communities financially and operationally (Black and McBean 2017). For example, in Weagamow First Nation in northern Ontario, the community water treatment plant was unable to operate for long periods at the capacity needed for the growing community.…”

“…Each reserve community is unique, with varied social, cultural, political, and economic systems. Top-down and one-size-fits-all approaches to fixing water problems on reserves have left a legacy of mistrust and contributed to little measureable progress (Daley et al 2015;Morrison et al 2015;Black and McBean 2017). Introducing new approaches including co-design and resulting trust and commitment to collaborations for enhancing water infrastructure on reserves are needed (Castleden et al 2017).…”

“…Though these projects have shown success in the co-design process across tourism, recreation, housing, and community service projects, outside norms are not always validated in water and wastewater treatment design (Martín 2014;Black and McBean 2017). Infrastructure design textbooks and manuals, for example, sporadically contain reference to the inclusion of cultural values and rarely contain guidelines for engaging with Indigenous communities (Sandercock 2003;Grant 2010).…”

“…Infrastructure design textbooks and manuals, for example, sporadically contain reference to the inclusion of cultural values and rarely contain guidelines for engaging with Indigenous communities (Sandercock 2003;Grant 2010). It is recognized that stakeholder priorities should be integrated into the decision-making process for community infrastructure to promote successful project outcomes, but this inclusion has not been advanced in work with Canadian Indigenous communities (Martin et al 2007;Richardson et al 2012;Daley et al 2015;Black and McBean 2017).…”