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Sekoh!  Aaniin!  Bonjour!  Hello! Asaase Yaa!

A Land acknowledgement shows our gratitude to the First Peoples who managed these Lands according to their traditional customs. Let us keep this Land acknowledgement in mind as we engage in critical anti-racism work.

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We recognize that we are currently on the traditional territories shared between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the Haudenosaunee peoples. OISE, the University of Toronto, stands on the Land signed as Treaty 13 and is protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum agreement, which is a treaty of overlapping governance between the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit River that bind them to share these territories and to protect Land.

 

Wampum belts are sacred physical and symbolic representations that affirm philosophical principles and enshrine political agreements and laws validating relations and treaties, narrating significant events, and recalling oral traditions. The Dish With One Spoon Wampum uses the symbolism of a dish to represent the territories and one spoon, illustrating that we are to share the resources of Land and only take what they need to maintain balance and reciprocal relations. 

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Since time immemorial, Turtle Island’s First Peoples have continued to walk gently on Land, offering their assistance to Settlers and sharing their knowledges and ways of knowing. Turtle Island has allowed many peoples, including colonial Settlers/occupiers, to be within this space. Canadians must also acknowledge the presence of Black and Africans in the diasporas. Their complicated histories and disrupted relations shape stories intertwined with ours connected to Land. Stories of ruptured relationships and hope guided by the birds who return to lead us along with a common destiny of liberation.

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A Land Acknowledgement is only meaningful if we learn from history and the long journeys and struggles that have brought all of us together. We must learn how to practice reconciliation in our everyday lives within ourselves, our families, communities, governments, places of worship, schools, and workplaces.

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Nai-wen!  Chi Miigwech!  Merci d'avance!  Thank you!  Asante Sana!