Living Land Acknowledgement

In acknowledging the Anishinaabe as the original people of the land on which our programs are offered, Parry Sound Forest School wishes to express its gratitude for their care of the land. We acknowledge the rich cultural practices of the Anishinaabe that existed long before the arrival of Europeans to Turtle Island and that will continue long into the future. 

We denounce the broken promises and violated agreements that for so long have caused harm to the Anishinaabe and other first peoples of this country. We recognize that the lives we lead today are built on lies told to indigenous people generations ago, and for this we are deeply sorry.

While we recognize the importance of the words that make up a land acknowledgement, we also recognize that these words are only meaningul when they are implemented in alignment with both our local situation and the Calls To Action of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Report . As such, we commit to taking the following actions to make this land acknowledgement a living land acknowledgement under the guidance of our partners in the Anishinaabe community:  

  • Open all events taking place at the forest school with a land acknowledgement.  This statement will be unique to the speaker, and as often as we are able, will include the voices of participant children.

  • Close our operations on Truth and Reconciliation Day to allow staff to attend local events and actions on this significant day and use our social media network to encourage other individuals and businesses to do the same.

  • Include the following sentence in the email signatures of our staff :

    • Learning together on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe people.

  • Annually offer, in conjunction with NOHFC (Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation), a paid one year internship at the forest school to an indigenous person interested in pursuing a career in this field.

  • Reach out to local First Nation Communities and the Parry Sound Friendship Centre to offer programming on site for their children.

  • Annually review these goals and our success in meeting them.