Territorial Acknowlegement
The University of Manitoba is located on Treaty 1 land. These lands are the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples and they are the homeland of the MĂ©tis Nation.
Although most of us are not together on these grounds right now, Zoom and other internet technologies that we rely on now to stay connected, such as Bell, Shaw, or whoverver you use for your internet, phone, etc., are grounded in these traditional territories—just as railway, telegram and telephone infrastructures were.
I recognize the original inhabitants of these lands not only as historical caretakers but as actors in the present and future of this place. With gratitude and the utmost respect, I thank the original peoples, past, present and future, for sharing their homelands and waters with us today.
While acknowledgments matter, words alone do not replace the work that needs to be done to address past and on-going acts of colonial violence. Words that simply replace action are a continuation of this violence.
I commit myself to doing more to understand how to live as a Treaty Person on these Treaty Lands, with the original intent that the Treaties were written in.
These are some resources that I have found useful.
Beyond territorial acknowledgement.