Roy and Judy Louis

Roy and Judy Louis have a strong spiritual belief that water is to be considered living and must be respected. The Samson Cree Nation has a variety of cultural and social practices that involve water, which Roy and Judy strive to bring to light for their fellow First Nations as well as non-aboriginal people. Roy and Judy Louis’ work in building relationships between all people has skyrocketed over the last four years through their commitment to host a long-forgotten Water Ceremony on their land. The Battle River Water Ceremony honours water and facilitates knowledge sharing between First Nations and all people in a traditional Cree ceremony. Four is a significant number for many First Nations people, and as such, Roy and Judy Louis made the commitment to host the Water Ceremony for four consecutive years, from 2012–2015. Roy believes First Nations cultural and social practices around water should be preserved and that the land and water can be healed, and help people to heal, through the use of this ancient tradition.