Forum 2023

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the traditional home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous Peoples. The nêhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Inuit, and Métis, among many others cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to steward it today. As visitors in this territory, we honour the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities. Only in partnership can we create the changes necessary to end homelessness. It is vital we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous People and communities in this work while recognizing and addressing the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous People in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.