Land Acknowledgment & ARAO Statement
Aaniin, Boozho,
We begin with acknowledging that we live and work on the
treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the First
Nations of the Williams Treaties area; the traditional territory of many
Indigenous peoples including the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron
Wendat. Right now, these lands are home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit,
and Metis people.
We recognize and thank the neighbouring communities of the
Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation,
Beausoleil First Nation, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, and the
Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation. We acknowledge these Nations (and any
other recorded or unrecorded Nations who cared for the land) as the past,
present and future caretakers of this land.
All Canadians, as Treaty peoples, share responsibility for
establishing and maintaining mutually respectful relationships, which includes
respecting and caring for the natural world.
The first step for those of us who are settlers is
understanding our own roles in colonialism and how we benefit from it. Only on
the basis of reckoning with our own history can we begin to make good on our
existing responsibilities and strengthen bonds between nations.
Across Turtle Island, Indigenous, Black, and other racialized
and oppressed peoples continue to be subjected to the harms of colonialism,
capitalism, and white supremacy. We acknowledge the fact that Black folks’
arrival in the Americas was the direct result of the dehumanization and forced
migration of African peoples through the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Now is not the time for silence, but the time for us to learn
and understand the truth, to build respectful and trusting relationships and to
take action to dismantle racism and oppression – in big ways, and small ways,
guided by the Core Values of Peer Support:
·
Hope
and recovery
·
Empathetic
and equal relationships
·
Self-determination
·
Dignity
respect and social inclusion
·
Integrity,
authenticity and trust
·
Health
and wellness
·
Lifelong
learning and personal growth
We are committed to ongoing learning, and we strive to move
forward in a good way, with Black folks, Indigenous folks, all those who are
racialized and all those who experience various forms of oppression. We are
committed to doing so with gratitude and respect for – the land, the water, the
air, plants, swimmers, flyers, crawlers, four-legged creatures, and all the
natural world that has been cared for by Indigenous peoples for thousands and
thousands of years.
Miigwetch