Land Acknowledgement

The Timmins Youth Wellness Hub would like to acknowledge the Land upon which we gather. We recognize that Land Acknowledgements may be seen differently by different people, and that it is in our actions that we really show our commitment to providing programs and services that are culturally safe and competent.

Wherever we are in so-called-Canada at-large, we are on Land that has been under the care and stewardship of Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial. In particular, we acknowledge that the Timmins community is situated on the traditional territory of Ojibway, Cree, Oji-Cree, Algonquin, and Métis Peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 9 (James Bay Treaty) and is home to many Indigenous communities today. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this territory, as well as their contributions in shaping and strengthening this community. In honouring the Land, we are acknowledging Indigenous Peoples’ relationship to the Land, and we are also acknowledging the broken treaty relationships and additional systems of power that have oppressed, and continue to oppress, Indigenous peoples.

As settlers, this recognition of the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous Peoples must be clearly and overtly connected to our collective commitment to make Truth, Decolonization and Reconciliation real in our communities.

“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants