POSTPONED: Public invited to learn history behind the Winnipeg Aqueduct

POSTPONED: Due to weather.

Brandon University (BU) history professor Rhonda Hinther is opening the doors of her Western Canadian history class next week for a timely talk from a Manitoba author.

She’s bringing author Adele Perry to speak about the history of the Winnipeg Aqueduct, which for nearly a century has provided water to the provincial capital — putting into motion a chain of circumstances that have left the Anishinaabe community of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, which provides the water, with no clean water of their own.

“This history is so valuable because it invites such engagement with the community,” Hinther says. “Adele Perry is an amazing speaker and a wonderful historian, and this is a great opportunity for all of us to learn about an issue that continues to be central to the lives of hundreds of thousands of Manitobans, even if they may not realize it.”

Perry, a history professor at the University of Manitoba, will draw from her new book, “Aqueduct,” which analyzes the development of the Winnipeg water supply as an example of the history of settler colonialism.

Students in Hinther’s class were assigned the book earlier this semester — and loved it.

“‘Aqueduct’ is an excellent and educational read,” says student Karmelle Tower. “Along with an extraordinary amount of information, it is still easy to understand all while answering most of the pertinent questions that a reader could have.”

Perry’s talk, “Drinking Dispossession: Winnipeg, Water, and the Politics of Colonialism,” will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in room CHO 022 in the basement of Clark Hall at Brandon University.

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