As a settler refugee here in Canada and a practitioner committed to the work of decolonization – I recognize full stop that land acknowledgements are not enough to combat the legacy of colonialism that continues to prevail on this land and around the world. Still, a first step towards truth and reconciliation in Canada is to acknowledge the very real legacy of colonization and its impact on this land and its Indigenous peoples.
Colonization has worked to discredit, and dismantle the courtesy, kindness, and existing strengths of the many Indigenous peoples who have long lived on this land. Colonization has also forced a many number of peoples and communities to come here involuntarily, particularly as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. And colonialism continues to impact the lives of many peoples and communities in Canada and all over the globe.
I practice on Treaty 6 territory, within the Metis homelands, and home of one of the largest communities of Inuit south of the 60th parallel. I acknowledge the diverse Indigenous Peoples whose ancestors’ footsteps have marked these territories for centuries including the Nêhiyawak (Cree), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux. My practice also extends to Treat 13 territory, traditional lands of Indigenous peoples and communities including the Huron-wendat, Anishinabek, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Mississaugas of the Credit River First Nations. There are also many other individuals and communities whose legacy and labour on this land is unaccounted for.
And so, with this land acknowledge – I offer an invitation: to acknowledge ourselves in relation to this history; an invitation to acknowledge how we perpetuate this history; and an invitation to acknowledge how we can contribute to a changing history. I encourage myself and everyone here reading this today to reflect and honour a past of the land on which we sit; to lean into the discomforts that arise when we do, and to work actively with this discomfort to seek new learning and unlearning about this land that we call home. And as I learn and unlearn and grow in this work, this land acknowledgement and my commitment to decolonization will do.
tara farahani therapy and consulting 