The Bíawaatchaache collective is committed to environmental issues

CROW AGENCY – A group of young women from the Crow Agency, known as the Bíawaatchaache Collective, are learning how to address environmental issues affecting their homeland.

Bíawaatchaache means “good woman” and Dreamstarter mentor JoRee LaFrance encourages young women to be just that.

“It’s important for us as a collective and as a community to learn more about the environmental issues we face because we are the ones experiencing the reality. We are the ones who feel the impacts first,” LaFrance said.

The Bíawaatchaache Collective was founded to educate young women on how to deal with the many environmental problems on reserves.

“In particular, we’re dealing with a lot of air pollution and water pollution. A lot of our river systems are at risk,” LaFrance said. “Last week, we tested 31 homes on the Crow Reservation that are owned by Crow Indians who rely on domestic wells, and we offered them free water quality testing.”

Adora Big Hair, a member of the collective, said she is learning how to deal with the environmental issues she grew up with.

“Growing up, I knew the water wasn’t safe to drink. But this collective opened my eyes through testing and showed me what could be in the water and in the air,” said Big Hair.

The collective is a year-long program aimed at empowering young women to create change in their own communities.

The collective is supported by the Dreamstarter program of the Running Strong for American Indian Youth Foundation.

Each year, the Dreamstarter program selects applicants to take the lead on a project. Tillie Stewart was selected as a Dreamstarter this year and founded the collective group.

“We are the first scientists in this country and we will continue to be the first scientists in this country,” Stewart said.

If contaminants are found in the water or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water limits are exceeded, the community provides a free water cooler as a temporary solution.

“While it is not a complete solution, it at least provides an immediate remedy that gives people direct access to clean drinking water,” LaFrance said.

The data collected will also help the Crow Tribe achieve wastewater treatment plant status under the Clean Water Act, which will allow them to set their own water quality standards.

“Our country has to do with our health and it has to do with our culture and it will be passed on to the next generations,” Stewart said.

This year, the collective has participated in workshops to learn about water quality, air quality, land and water rights, and learned from educators and community elders.

LaRance said the young women will leave the collective with more than just an understanding of the environment.

“When our women leave our community knowing that they have agency in our community, in our land – our Apsáalooke land – that they are decision makers, that they have their own agency, that we have the power to make the changes not only within our families but within our community.”

“And I hope that we give them the strength to have confidence in themselves and their own ability to act as we move and navigate this world, but especially in our community,” LaRance continued.

The Bíawaatchaache Collective hopes to run another program in the future. The home water quality testing is funded by the Denver Health and Hospitality Authority.