Tu-ninq’ez. Cold, fresh water in the Tsilhqot’in language spoken on the remote reserves west of Williams Lake, B.C.
On Xeni Gwet’in First Nation — the most remote of the six Tsilhqot’in member bands — tu-ninq’ez (pronounced “too-ning-KAWZ”) is at the cultural heart of their salmon-fishing, wild horse-coralling, hay-baling lifestyle.
Despite that, the 252-resident community has been under a boil-water advisory for 17 years, which Ottawa originally announced in 2001 because of a high risk of sewage contamination, according to documents.
“Recently elected Xeni Gwet’in chief Jimmy Lulua doesn’t have running water in his own house. He brushes his teeth from a cup. It is a daily reminder of how precious water is to his people — but, he noted, “It’s not by choice.”
“We’ve never been high on the government’s priority list,” he said. “We live in a third world country in one of the richest countries in the world.”
A B.C. reserve has been 17 years without safe drinking water. Many don’t even have tap water
Don0303 