I am a grandmother, water protector and high school teacher from the Mi’kmaq Nation, in what is currently known as Nova Scotia, Canada. I have been working to protect our waters and lands from colonial control and dangerous resource extraction my whole life. When Europeans arrived in Mi’kmaq territory, we never ceded lands or accepted defeat, though for the last 450 years Canada has been constantly assaulting our people, invading our lands and communities and stealing our resources.