Building Personal Connections to Our Land Acknowledgment

Tihmily Li, Communications Officer
As part of our ongoing Truth and Reconciliation process, members of the Greenwood community give a Land Acknowledgement before morning announcements, assemblies, school gatherings and events. This year, students campaigned to introduce new personalized Land Acknowledgements to bring further awareness and more engagement.
 
The idea, first proposed by Evan Edgell ‘24, outlined the impact creating personalized Land Acknowledgements could bring to the community. In a joint effort with the DEI Committee and the Sustainability and Stewardship Committee, members of both groups attended a workshop where they began creating their own Land Acknowledgements.
 
“When Ms. Hu reached out to me about writing my own Land Acknowledgement, I felt it was an opportunity to refresh something that we are so used to within our day-to-day lives at Greenwood,” says Aubrey Campbell ‘24, one of the DEI Committee Executives. “I hope the integration of these new Land Acknowledgements will renew their importance and purpose within the student body and the greater school community.”
 
For some students, the exercise encouraged them to reflect on their actions. “I reflected on how I can best honour the land and what my use of the land is,” says Izzy McEvily ‘24. Abby Weston ‘26 also considered what was important to her in the terms of the land she lives on and the significance it has in her life. Creating a personalized Land Acknowledgement was also an opportunity for students to express their appreciation for the use of the land and determine which reconcili-actions they would take for further equity and justice.
 
We appreciate these student-driven opportunities to incorporate student voices and input into our initiatives.
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Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811
We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and as settlers, we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.
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