Land Acknowledgement*

FCJ Refugee Centre is located in Tkaronto, now known as Toronto, which in Mohawk means “where there are trees standing in the water.”

Tkaronto is covered under Treaty #13 and the Williams Treaties. It is the traditional territories of many First Peoples, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.

These nations continue to experience ongoing colonization and displacement– where land acknowledgements are offered in place of land itself.

This territory is part of ‘the Dish with One Spoon’ wampum, a Treaty made between the Anishinaabe, Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee, where nations entered into an agreement to protect the land and responsibly care for its resources in harmony together.

As settlers, newcomers, refugees, and Indigenous peoples, we have all been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect.

We are also mindful of broken treaties, as well as the global structures and systems that have continued to oppress, dispossess and displace peoples across Turtle Island today. We turn our minds to conflicts and human rights catastrophes here at home and around the world where struggles for land, recognition, and reparations continue unabated.

We recognize our responsibilities as Treaty people to speak the truth, search for peace and demand justice; and engage in a meaningful, continuous process of truth and reconciliation with all our relations.

Respect.

FCJ Refugee Centre, July 2024

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* This Land Acknowledgement is reproduced, in part, from The 519 “We Are All Treaty People”.