07/01/2026
Our lead stewart, Abby Bushby, was asked by our Member of Parliament, Karim Bardeesy, to Acknowledge the Land at our local celebration of Canada Day 2026.
Shared here now with you:
"It is an honour to represent our community here today. Thank you.
When we acknowledge the land we are saying that history in Canada did not begin a mere 4-500 years ago, as those of us who went to Ontario schools years ago were taught. Nor do we say that the history of this land is mainly about colonial settlement.
In truth, the land we stand on today, the high ground of High Park, was and continues to be sacred land for the Indigenous nations who occupied this land since time immemorial, from the first peoples who entered Toronto, as the glaciers melted, along present day Davenport Road, possibly the oldest road in North America, although there are indications of earlier human presence.
To the present day, the Indigenous people who have lived here include the Petun, or To***co People; the Wendat, Neutral, and Haudenosaunee who formed the Confederacy of Six Nations; and the Anishinaabeg Peoples on their great migration around the Great Lakes, who formed the Council of Three Fires to protect their territories, share resources and maintain good relations with neighbouring nations.
Present day Toronto is home to peoples of all these nations, plus Metis, Inuit, and Indigenous peoples who share deep cultural connections to land, water, air, and living beings.
We salute this land, the high ground of High Park, for recognizing Indigenous cultures to steward the land, with prescribed burns, guarding turtles, restoring habitat, and treasuring the black oak savannah -- one of the last existing remnants that once covered 2 million hectares in Ontario. All are performed in ceremony with Indigenous leadership.
We are all treaty people. The first following colonial settlements in Canada is the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701, to share hunting territories between Indigenous nations, now extended into local acceptance of the Dish With One Spoon Agreement.
All treaties made between the Crown and Indigenous Nations restrict and grant rights, for better or for worse. Settlers and descendants, have rights to live here due to the Toronto Purchase between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in 1787, 1805, and 2010.
The present era of relations between Indigenous peoples and us later-arrivals affords many opportunities to face the truths of how Canada restricted Indigenous peoples, so as to occupy and “own” land, which was a foreign concept to Indigenous peoples who say that the land owns us.
We can all learn, as our children are now learning Indigenous history, traditions, culture and futures. In this era, it is time to take actions for Reconciliation.
For this Land Acknowledgement, I take inspiration from the Anishinaabeg teachings of the Seven Grandfathers, sacred guidance for people to live a good, harmonious life: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth, heart Truth."
