Land Acknowledgement

We begin Camp Rainbow Phoenix by acknowledging that we are meeting on Indigenous land that has been inhabited by indigenous peoples from the beginning. We thank all of the generations of people who have taken care of this land for thousands of years. 

Long before today, as we gather here, there have been indigenous peoples who have been the stewards of this place. In particular we acknowledge the traditional and treaty territory of the Mississauga’s and Chippewa’s of the Anishinabek, known today as the Williams Treaties First Nations. Our work on these lands acknowledges their resilience and their longstanding contributions to the area. We are thankful for the opportunity to live, learn and share with mutual respect and appreciation. We also recognize the contributions of Metis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples have made, both in strengthening this community in particular and our province and country as a whole.

As settlers, this recognition of the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous peoples must be clearly and overtly connected to our collective commitment to make the promise and challenge of Truth and Reconciliation real in our communities. And in particular, to bring justice for the victims of the residential school system across our country, and for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. We recognize that decolonization must be an active and ongoing process of reconciliation.

Camp Rainbow Phoenix is dedicated to creating a space in our programming to promote the creative and political work of indigenous queer and two-spirited voices.