Land Acknowledgment
The land on which Scarborough Arts is located has been the home of Indigenous people and Nations long before colonial documentation of time and is specifically the land of the Wendat, Anishinaabe, Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Haudenosaunee. The territory of what is known today as Toronto is under the One Dish, One Spoon Wampum belt, a peace treaty between the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinabek, and is a mutual agreement between nations for sharing land and resources. The territories that encompass Toronto, as well, are under a number of Treaties including Treaty 13, and in Scarborough specifically the Williams Treaties. There have been many Indigenous names and words associated with this place, and today, Scarborough is home to a multitude of Indigenous people, languages, and cultures from around the world.
We as an organization are composed of people from various walks of life. All of us at Scarborough Arts encourage you to support and advocate for Indigenous people and communities, everywhere. In Canada, specifically, this can look like many things; such as actively returning land, rejecting government legislation that violates the rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, denouncing colonial histories within institutions, ending violence against Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and girls, donating money to Indigenous youth groups, and any actions that genuinely support the wellbeing and success of Indigenous people, everywhere.
We are all treaty people. Many of us have come here as settlers, immigrants, or newcomers in this generation or generations past. We also acknowledge the many people of African descent who are not settlers, but whose ancestors were forcibly displaced as part of the transatlantic slave trade against their will, and made to work on these lands. We honour and pay tribute to the ancestors of African origin and descent.
Indigenous-led community groups and initiatives to support in Toronto and abroad include:
Native Youth Sexual Health Network: http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/
Walking With Our Sisters: http://walkingwithoursisters.ca/
No More Stolen Sisters: https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/campaigns/no-more-stolen-sisters
Strawberry Ceremony on February 14th, every year at the Toronto Police Headquarters: http://www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/event/14th-annual-february-14th-strawberry-ceremony-for-mmiwg2s/
Donate to the ENAGB youth program in Toronto: https://www.facebook.com/enagbyouthprogram/
Idle No More: http://www.idlenomore.ca/volunteer
Thunder Woman Healing Lodge: https://www.twhls.ca/
Support and donate to Maggie’s Sex Worker Action Project Indigenous Program in Toronto: http://maggiestoronto.ca/, https://www.maggiesto.org/indigenous-program
Resources and Further Reading:
Read, educate yourself, and demand justice for the ongoing government of Canada violation of Indigenous land rights on Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) territory at 1492 Land Back Lane: https://behindthenumbers.ca/2020/10/28/1492-land-back-lane-respect-for-indigenous-land-protectors/
Read and educate yourself about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, 2Spirit, Girls, GNC, and Non-Binary people: https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/
Learn about the specific Indigenous ownership of the lands you live in and visit with this interactive map: https://native-land.ca/
Learn more about what it means to return land to Indigenous people and the violence of ongoing colonial occupation on Indigenous lands here: https://redpaper.yellowheadinstitute.org/
Visit the Living Hyphen webpage to learn more about individual and community support for Indigenous people: https://livinghyphen.ca/indigenous-allyship?mc_cid=ba8dbc57f0&mc_eid=357566a556
Visit Greenhouse Theater Scarborough website to learn more about the specific Indigenous and colonial histories of Scarborough: http://www.greenhousetheatre.life/indigenous-scarborough
Learn more about the importance and significance of Land Acknowledgments here: https://locallove.ca/issues/what-are-land-acknowledgements-and-why-do-they-matter/#:~:text=According%20to%20Anishinaabe%2Dkwe%20Wanda,erased%20from%20her%2C%20our%20collective
Land Acknowledgment References: