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 Mississaugas 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 include respecting and caring for the natural world.
The first step for settlers is understanding our own roles in colonialism and how we benefit from it. Only by reckoning with our own history can we begin to fulfill 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