Acknowledgments

Canada exists as we know it today because of the harmful impacts of colonization.

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While we work to disrupt colonial and oppression-rooted practices in the work we feel called to do as a collective, we also acknowledge our presence as uninvited settlers on Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) and Kjipuktuk (Halifax), traditional territories of the Kanien’kehà:ka Nation and Mi'kmaq Nation, and home to many other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. With humility and respect, we express our deep gratitude to the Original Peoples of Turtle Island, who continue to fulfill their responsibilities as guardians and stewards of these lands, waters, plant life, animal life, and all the beautiful elements of Creation since time immemorial.

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We also acknowledge the harm of colonization that resilient people of the global diaspora have experienced, including Black and racialized non-white communities, who experienced displacement, land theft, enslavement, violence, genocide, and cultural appropriation.

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We continue to learn about and honour our responsibilities as treaty people with humility as we work in solidarity with fellow community members to heal from the harm of colonization and to reclaim the joy, inclusion, well-being, creativity and liberation that is every human’s birthright.

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We thank Leena Sharma-Seth from Mending the Chasm for inspiring us to move from a land acknowledgement to an acknowledgment of the harms that colonization has brought to Turtle Island and its land stewards, as well as other historically marginalized communities and state our commitment to keep dismantling these systems of oppression.