Land Acknowledgement

The Vaughan-Oakwood Youth Network, working within Tkaronto (so-called Toronto), are on the traditional territories of many Indigenous nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnawbe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. 

Indigenous nations have cared for this land for many generations before they were colonised by European settlers decades ago. As visitors, it is our responsibility to be aware of our place in the history of colonialism and to commit to protecting and caring for this land and all those that live upon it. 

We understand many folks with African descent live on this land but whose ancestors were forcibly brought over through the Transatlantic Slave trade. Within the area of Vaughan and Oakwood, Little Jamaica has been a cultural and ethnic enclave, a safe space for many Caribbean and African folks, and it should be protected. Colonialism and anti-Black racism is not an issue of the past; It is an issue that continues today. 

We are nowhere near to decolonizing our practice and still have a lot of progress to make but we will work to: 

• Use Indigenous worldviews and knowledge to guide our practice. 
• Use anti-colonialism and anti-oppression frameworks. 
• Commit to educating ourselves on related topics such as power and oppression, anti-Black racism, and colonialism.