Land Acknowledgement
In 2024, our Board of Directors developed the ReconciliACTION Working Group, comprised of three Indigenous members and the Anti-Racism, Anti- Oppression Specialist – Reconciliation. The ReconciliACTION Team is now a part of our Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Board Committee.
As part of their work, the ReconciliACTION Team researched and developed an organizational land acknowledgement to show respect for Indigenous peoples and territories, while also acknowledging the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization in the health-care sector and beyond.
This is a meaningful and necessary step toward aligning ONA with its commitments to reconciliation. It provides a visible and consistent expression of respect for Indigenous peoples and territories, particularly given the provincial breadth of our membership and operations.
We reflect on our collective past and recommit to a future where everyone is treated with the respect, care and dignity we all deserve.
“In the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, the Ontario Nurses’ Association recognizes that our work, and the work of our members, takes place on many traditional Indigenous territories across Ontario.
ONA is committed on our reconciliation journey as we engage in discussions to learn together, and to support engagement and partnerships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, organizations, and communities.
We believe that it’s our responsibility to meaningfully incorporate reconciliation in all aspects of our organization.”
This acknowledgement is not intended to replace personal or localized acknowledgements during events or gatherings, but to reflect ONA’s values and reconciliation journey in ongoing communications.
It is an invitation for you to explore more about the land in which you live. What communities lived (and continue to live) here before you came? What languages did they speak? How can you contribute to reconciliation in your community?
Why acknowledge?
According to Red River Métis Lindsay DuPré, “As we engage in processes of reconciliation, it is critical that land acknowledgements don’t become a token gesture. They are not meant to be static, scripted statements that every person must recite in exactly the same way. They are expressions of relationship, acknowledging not just the territory someone is on, but that person’s connection to that land based on knowledge that has been shared with them.”
Indigenous Tourism Ontario also states, “Land acknowledgements are an act of reconciliation, an act of compassion, and an act of mindfulness. By recognizing the traditional territories you stand on and what they mean to you, you take a small but important step towards recognizing and honouring the Indigenous Peoples who have lived on Turtle Island (aka: North America) since long before colonization.”
For additional information about land acknowledgements, please visit the links below:
In 2024, our Board unanimously approved a Declaration on Truth and Reconciliation. This declaration reflects ONA’s core social justice values and establishes reconciliation as an organizational priority. We all have an important responsibility to advance truth and reconciliation as individuals, as nurses and health-care professionals and as ONA.
We urge our members, staff and allies to learn about and reflect on our past and how we can meaningfully participate in reconciliation in Canada. For additional information, please visit the links below:
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