On the largest freshwater island in the world, Lake Huron’s Native Americans warn of the fragility of water

In their native tongue, the Anishinaabe people have many words for water.

There’s nibi, the water you drink. There’s gimewan, the water that falls from the sky. There’s nibiiwsh, the water that wells up in your eyes. There’s biinjinoowaanaabo, the water that breaks before a baby is born.

Even the Anishinaabe word for child literally translates to: Spirit that comes alive from within the water.

“Water is life,” said Doris Peltier, head of one tribe’s heritage organization. “For nine months, before that child came into this earth, where were they?...