We acknowledge that we are meeting on the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit River. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois and the Obijbwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.
For those of us who are settlers, we are honoured to be here as guests on this land that Indigenous Peoples have cared for and continue to care for. We are grateful to the Indigenous women in these lands who are on the frontlines of climate justice by defending the land, water, and all life against environmental destruction.
We commit ourselves to working to bring justice to murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls from coast to coast to coast.
Canada’s settler-colonialism has caused much devastation and continues to damage so many Indigenous lives.
Especially with the finding and recovery of Indigenous children buried at unmarked mass graves on the sites of former Residential Schools across the country we are reminded of the haunting and horrific legacy of the residential school system and the ongoing harm Canada’s assimilationist policies and colonial laws have on Indigenous peoples.
We are all witness to the deep disparities in our communities, worsened by the pandemic, and we are committed to working to achieve prosperity and true equality for all people. Our acknowledgement of Indigenous land must be accompanied by our collective commitment as well as political action in solidarity with Indigenous Communities within our workplaces, neighborhoods, and in our union.