Why water is worthy of the history books

We've been living like a water-rich nation. It's time to look at the bill.

The Secret Life of Canada team dives into the complex history of a precious natural resource, and how it was managed before Canada called the shots. 

In an episode the runs the range of emotions, Falen Johnson makes the case that water is a historic topic. Hear her and co-host Leah-Simone Bowen like you've never quite heard them before. 

What you'll hear this episode:

• Falen and Leah jump into the history of Canada's first highways (spoiler: they weren't roads). 
• How Indigenous trade routes laid the blueprint for the foundation of Canada.
• How corn came to North America and why it was such an important crop. (Plus, how Leah would use it to solves Brexit. You're welcome, Theresa May.)  
• Also: corn Vampires: real or a fake breakfast cereal?
• The story of Oolichan and how this tiny fish may be the namesake for an American state.
• Why don't many people who live on reserves don't have access to clean drinking water. Does Canada have a myth of abundance when it comes to it's water?
• Environmental concerns, both current and upcoming, for Canada's water supply. 
• What to do about it other than cry a little (but, it's okay to cry a little too). 

References: 

• Indigenous Trade Networks Thrived Long Before the Arrival of Europeans. Web post by Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.
• First Nations Trade, Specialization, and Market Institutions: A Historical Survey of First Nation Market Culture. Paper by André Le Dressay, Normand Lavallee, and Jason Reeves.
• Interview with Bonnie Devine, Associate Professor at OCAD University and the Founding Chair of OCAD U's Indigenous Visual Culture Program
• Bonnie Devine's Woodlands: Bonnie Devine talks about treaty and her exhibition Battle for the Woodlands. Art Gallery of Ontario. 
• 'Salvation Fish' That Sustained Native People Now Needs Saving and article by J. B. MacKinnon for National Geographic.
• Interview with Hayden King, Anishnaabe writer and educator. Advisor to the Dean, Indigenous Education, at Ryerson University.
• Interview with Ava Hill, elected Chief of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. 
• While Nestlé extracts millions of litres from their land, residents have no drinking water. Article by Alexandra Shimo for the Guardian.
• Eating too much corn turns you into a vampire (without the blood drinking). Web post by Esther Inglis-Arkell for Gizmodo.
• How Corn Might Be the Reason for the Vampire Myth. Video by Eater, Vox Media. 
• New data suggests Victoria harbour is B.C. coast's dirtiest body of water. Video and article by CTV Vancouver Island.
• Lake Winnipeg named world's most threatened lake in 2013. Article by CTV News.
• Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada's Water Crisis. Book by Maude Barlow. 
• Interview with Maude Barlow, bestselling author of the Blue Water trilogy. Honorary Chairperson of the Council of Canadians as well as chair of the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch.