Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth — filtering water, storing carbon, buffering coastlines from storms, and supporting everything from migratory birds to wild rice. Across North America, some of the most effective work to protect these landscapes is being led not by federal agencies, but by the Indigenous nations who have stewarded these waters for thousands of years. Their fight is as much about sovereignty and treaty rights as it is about ecology — and it’s a story worth understanding.
A Landscape Under Pressure
The scale of wetland loss in North America is significant. The United States has lost roughly 16.8 million acres of wetlands since the mid-1950s, and between 2009 and 2019 alone, the continent lost 670,000 acres of vegetated wetlands — a 50% jump in the annual rate of loss compared to the prior decade, driven mostly by conversion to agriculture, forestry, and development.
Over 5 million acres of wetlands sit on tribal lands in the U.S. alone, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For Indigenous nations, these are not abstract acreages — they are the rivers, marshes, and shallows tied to treaty-protected fishing, hunting, and gathering rights, as well as cultural and spiritual practice passed down for generations.
A Legal Turning Point
In May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA narrowed Clean Water Act protections dramatically, removing federal safeguards from any wetland without a “continuous surface connection” to navigable waters. The decision instantly placed millions of acres — including many on or near tribal lands — into a legal grey zone, exposed to development and pollution with far less federal recourse.
In Canada, the picture has been messier. Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, advanced through the House of Commons in 2024 — then died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025. It took until June 2026 for a replacement, Bill C-37, to be tabled, carrying similar provisions plus $4.6 billion in funding for implementation. The stakes are real: as of late 2024, roughly 27 First Nations in Canada were still living under long-term drinking water advisories, some for nearly three decades.
Indigenous-Led Conservation in Action
Amid these legal battles, Indigenous nations are leading some of the continent’s most ambitious conservation work:
- The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin has spent years fighting to remove Enbridge’s aging Line 5 oil pipeline from their reservation’s wetlands and watershed — refusing an $80 million settlement offer in 2024 to continue pressing for full pipeline removal.
- The Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation in Canada’s Northwest Territories leads Thaidene Nëné, an internationally recognized Indigenous-led protected area safeguarding vast boreal wetland systems.
- Ducks Unlimited, working alongside many of these efforts, has helped conserve over 19 million acres of waterfowl habitat across North America.
The Wild Rice Connection
For Anishinaabe peoples across the Great Lakes region, wetlands are inseparable from manoomin — wild rice that grows in shallow wetland waters and holds deep cultural, spiritual, and legal significance. Manoomin is treaty-protected, and its health is a living indicator of wetland health itself. When pipelines threaten to spill into these waters, or when agricultural runoff and drainage degrade wetland shallows, it isn’t just habitat at risk — it’s a food system and a way of life that predates the modern legal frameworks now being asked to protect it.
Organizations Leading the Work
Groups like the Native American Rights Fund, Earthjustice, the Assembly of First Nations, Nature United, and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative are supporting these fights through litigation, policy advocacy, and direct partnership with Indigenous-led conservation projects. Their work spans courtrooms, legislatures, and the wetlands themselves.
What You Can Do
Learning the names of the nations and rivers involved is a meaningful first step. From there, consider following and supporting organizations like the Native American Rights Fund or Nature United, both of which work directly with Indigenous communities on water and wetland protection. Staying informed about legislation like Bill C-37 — and how similar protections are faring in your own country — helps ensure these fights don’t stay invisible.
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