The Vanier Institute of the Family is located on and operates on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Peoples, whose ancestors have resided here since time immemorial. We are grateful for the privilege of having access to this land, and we want to pay respect to its traditional keepers and guardians.
We are settlers on Algonquin territory, on which processes of colonization, theft, and displacement have left the Anishinaabeg with small plots of land that are home to 10 communities inhabiting Ontario and Quebec in Kiji Sibi (the area now known as the Ottawa River Watershed). This territory had culturally specific governance, education, and justice systems prior to colonial contact. The Ottawa River Watershed is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is located on land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.
We are committed to learning and sharing knowledge about the experiences and realities of Indigenous families. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis families continue to experience settler colonialism across Turtle Island, not just in its impacts but also in its practice.
Family relationships have been severed and communities have been devastated as a result of oppressive and destructive policies such as those responsible for the Indian Residential School system, the Sixties Scoop, and the continued apprehension of Indigenous children, which is now known as the Millennium Scoop. Indigenous families have been forcefully removed from the land central to their identities and wellbeing. Many First Nations still do not have access to clean drinking water today and Indigenous communities continue to fight for their inherent rights to hunt and fish on traditional lands that were stolen from them by federal and provincial governments to build and benefit Canadian society.
We aim to support decolonization by listening to, engaging with, and taking direction from Indigenous families, communities, and Knowledge Keepers, in respectful partnership and collaboration. We strive to learn from the lessons of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and to share this knowledge to strengthen our understanding of the multigenerational harms that colonialism and systemic racism continue to cause to Indigenous families.
The purpose of this acknowledgement is to recognize our relationship with the land on which we operate as settlers, to recognize and pay respect to its original custodians, and to state our commitments to decolonization.