[music plays throughout]
[woman] Humber College is located within the traditional and treaty lands
of the Mississaugas of the Credit.
Known as Adoobiigok,
the "Place of the Alders" in Michi Saagiig language.
The region is uniquely situated along the Humber River watershed,
which historically provided an integral connection
for Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples
between the Ontario Lakeshore and the Lake Simcoe/Georgian Bay regions.
Now home to people of numerous nations,
Adoobiigok continues to provide a vital source of interconnection for all.
[Jason Seright] Often, people ask, why are we doing land acknowledgements?
Some who may not know the history or, or just haven't dove into it.
I think land acknowledgements are very important.
As an Indigenous person, when I hear it,
I stand a little taller, and my, my chest gets a little bigger,
and I'm, I'm proud.
Because growing up for so many years, that wasn't talked about.
They didn't acknowledge it.
It's like, 'kay, now, we're finally acknowledging
there were individuals, you know, original peoples of this land.
And to me, that's what that land acknowledgement says.
Other people will think it's just a small piece,
but for myself, being in education,
it's a small foundational piece.
It can open up the door to many more learnings
and many more opportunities to recognize what land means to you.
[Gina Antonacci] I'm reminded each and every time
I do a land acknowledgement or I hear a land acknowledgement
that it is just a symbol of so much more that exists,
and that we as an institution and myself as an individual
have made a commitment to support that, that knowing
and that it's going to mean that my students are going to benefit,
and that we as an institution, as a community,
are going to continue to grow and develop.
That's what it does for me.
[Mark Sault] Just making people aware of, uh, the territory they're in.
I, I think they should know.
Like, because when we travel around, uh, Turtle Island,
there's so many different land acknowledgements,
different communities, different territories.
They should understand how big.
It's not just a reserve.
It's the territory, the traditional territory of the First Nations.
So that's why it's important
for them to understand that and respect that. So.
[Kaitlin Oh'Kera Phillips] I think land acknowledgements
are beneficial to everyone on a personal level,
whether you're Indigenous or not Indigenous,
because it puts you in that place of gratitude.
And you can acknowledge, you know,
the nations that were here and what treaty it is,
but then we always encourage whoever's doing a land acknowledgement
to then go a step further and relate it to themselves
and bring themselves into this relationship
or bring their class into that relationship.
And whatever topic you're speaking on,
'cause absolutely any topic can be brought back to the land,
someway, somehow.
[Jason] For me, land acknowledgements are very personal,
not just the memorization of words.
It's speaking to what that really means to you.
If it's done in a good way, in a proper way,
a respectful, caring way,
for the individual giving the land acknowledgement,
it's gonna open up their hearts and their minds,
as to what it means to them.
[Mark] And whether it's coming from the heart
or just coming from a piece of paper,
I, I think they really have to understand
why they're giving a land acknowledgement
because that's a big thing.
I mean, you can almost tell the body language
of people who are giving them,
whether they're sincere and whether it's coming from the heart.
[Jason] Don't use it as a checkbox.
'Kay, boom, I've done this. Let's move on.
Really dive into that.
What does that land acknowledgement mean to you personally?
And some of the tips is, you know, ask questions.
Don't be shy.
Uh, don't think you're gonna hurt my feelings
if you ask for some advice,
or that you're gonna be disrespectful.
Because I didn't grow up bringing, uh, bringing land acknowledgements.
It's something I had to learn.
I had to get better with.
You know, I was in the same spot that that individual was.
Maybe I've been doing it a little bit longer,
but I remember being at that spot and wanting to be respectful
and not wanting to say, uh, pronounce a word incorrect
or, or say something that, that might hurt someone's feelings.
Often, in a lot of my talks with the Elders,
another tip is speak from the heart.
That's always a great place to come from.
People receive that in a good, in a good way and a good manner,
and people feel it.
By doing that, that'll open up more learning opportunities
for you to want to learn more and ask more questions, you know?
[Kaitlin] If you're nervous about giving a land acknowledgement
'cause you don't think it's gonna be good enough in whatever way,
as long as you're, you have the best intentions,
and you're speaking from a place of honesty,
and you're coming from a good place, and it's authentically you,
then it won't be a bad land acknowledgement.
It's really the situations where you see people
and you can tell that they don't want to be doing it,
and, or they don't see the importance of it.
Uh, and that's really transparent.
Like, you can see that.
It changes the whole purpose and the,
the feeling you're supposed to get whenever you, you acknowledge
and, you know, you're practicing gratitude.
[Louise Zimanyi] Think it's important to always think back to the past,
and we're in the present, and what we're doing
so that those lands are there in the future.
I think that's what land acknowledgements are about for me,
not just having it on the course outline,
but what does it mean for this particular course?
What does it mean when we go out
and then we revisit the land acknowledgement
when we're actually on the land,
as opposed to being in the classroom when,
or online when they first read it or they hear it?
Then we connect it when we go out to the land.
What does it mean to be connected to the river, the Humber River,
Gabekanaang-ziibi, or what does Adoobiigok mean?
[Mark] And it's our job to look after the land
and plan things for the next seven generations.
Like, uh, to make sure there's something for our kids,
grandkids, great-grandkids that are coming along. So.
Think about the fact that we are so lucky
to have the Arboretum here at the North Campus in our backyard.
We have 250 acres of, of land there.
And then at the Lakeshore, you know,
we have the grounds of the Lakeshore Campus,
we have, you know, the birds, we have the lake right there.
So we have all of this space to be able to, uh, explore,
but we also have a great deal to be grateful for
and to find ways to connect to the land that is right here.
And so that is something that has become clear to me.
[Jason] I would like to ask everyone to consider your own relationship
and responsibility you have to this place,
these lands and waters, and to all of your relations.
Not just the human relations, you know, the birds, the animals.
What words will you use to acknowledge these relations?
But more importantly,
we're at a point now where words and thoughts are no longer good enough.
What actions will you take to honour them?
Kinanâskomitin. Miigwech. Nia:wen. Thank you.