May We Become Good Treaty People

Our life and work are situated on the ancestral, unceded, and unsurrendered territories of the Omàmiwinini  and Wendat nations whose relationship with the land is ancient, primary, and enduring. This place we now call home was once alive with their language, ceremony, storytelling, teachings, and song. We affirm that our very capacity to be in this place, and to draw life from it - whether invited or not - depends in no small part upon generations of Omàmiwinini and Wendat peoples who ensured that these territories remained vibrant and nourishing for all life.

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As settlers we are embedded in a colonialist society that for hundreds of years has brought great harm and trauma to both these original peoples and to the land in attempting to assimilate them by creating residential schools, outlawing their practices, stealing their land and carelessly exploiting the land for our own objectives. 

Today we recognize the damage our ways are still causing to the First Peoples of this place and to the land and all her beings.

 

Settler people have destroyed the original trust and friendship that was granted to us and so we take this opportunity to show our gratitude to the Omàmiwinini and Wendat peoples and to the land itself for all that it continues to generously provide us, even in the face of this harm.

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We commit to three critical ways that we follow to begin the long journey of learning to demonstrate our responsibility for these harms and to co-create a good way forward in our relations with the Omàmiwinini and Wendat peoples and other First Nations, Inuit and Métis living in this place - to become good treaty people. 

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1. To educate ourselves and grow in our understanding of the truth of our history. To learn to see this history as it is still alive today and to hold the discomfort of the harm with clear eyes and to speak it honourably from the heart.
    

2. To practice respect, understanding and deep regard for the journeys of healing and liberation that First Nations, Inuit and Métis are undertaking and seek ways to live in shared friendship and peace according to the Two Row Wampum treaty.
    

3. To work to support Indigenous sovereignty and uplift and elevate the work of Indigenous knowledge keepers, water protectors and land defenders in our area and throughout Turtle Island. In part, we do this by supporting Indigenous Climate Action and Raven Trust.

 

We make these commitments not simply for our own lifetime, but for the sake of future generations that one day settlers and the First Peoples of this land may live harmonious, respectful and sovereign lives on this beautiful and sacred land.