The newest OU International Water Prize winner will be selected at the next Symposium on September 4, 2024

 

The actual Water Prize is a blown glass of the world
in the shape of a water droplet.

The purpose of the OU International Water Prize (“the Prize”) is to recognize and honor an individual, acting alone or as leader of an organization, who has made significant contributions in the field of water resources, sanitation, or other aspects of water security, particularly for the benefit of disadvantaged communities in rural or remote regions. The Prize is a biennial award sponsored by the WaTER Center and is made possible by generous gifts from alumni, friends, and the OU administration. It consists of a $25,000 cash award and a glass trophy developed by a local artist. Past winners and Prize details can be found on the website. 

The Prize is believed to be the first and largest prize dedicated to water supply, water resources, and/or sanitation in emerging regions. The Directors of the WaTER Center, with input from the WaSH and water resources community, select a panel of jurors, comprised of 5-6 qualified specialists who work in the area of the field of WaSH and water security as it relates to water supply and resource planning, particularly for emerging regions. These jurors come to the OU campus in the Fall to select a new awardee. Each juror is responsible for nominating one person for the Prize. After a full day and a half of deliberations, the jurors select their top candidate. The new Prize winner is announced at an evening Symposium, an elegant affair which includes a delicious banquet and short presentations from each of the jurors.

The Symposium banquet provides a beautiful context
for the announcement of the newest Water Prize winner.

Dawn Martin-Hill is awarded the 2022 OU International Water Prize!

 

Dawn Martin-Hill gives the Keynote Address
at the 2022 International Water Conference banquet in Oklahoma City, OK

Dawn Martin-Hill is a storyteller, because it is in stories where the truth lies. She tells one story of leading a water ceremony out on the west coast of the U.S. One participant brought a pottery bowl that was engraved with “Water is Life” in many different languages. That bowl is a symbol of Dawn’s lifework – to honor and celebrate the sacramental gift that water is to all peoples using the stories and myths of her culture, the Haudenosaunee peoples of Canada’s Six Nations of the Grand River. The two-row wampum belt is another symbol that expresses a journey of two cultures who travel down the river together, side by side, without trying to steer one another. Surrounded by the Great Lakes, Dawn’s tribal culture is defined and nourished by freshwater. She says that “our entire way of life is governed by water. It is spiritual, it is cultural, it is our identity. When you take that away from us, you are literally taking away our culture.”  

Dr. Martin-Hill receives her award surrounded by the WaTER Center Directors
along with Tana Fitzpatrick, Director of the Native Nations Center at OU.

Traditional indigenous knowledge is relayed through oral tradition, primarily from stories, arts, crafts, and ceremonies, all done in the indigenous language.  Under colonization, the residential schools outlawed the indigenous language, and yet indigenous knowledge about water and ecology is embedded in the native language. When the language is lost, so is the indigenous knowledge.  Thus, Dawn’s integrated teams of elders, youth, biologists, scientists, and engineers present their work in bilingual format.