The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.
-David W. Orr

Welcome to Elementary (K-8) Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment: Science – Foundational, EDUC 4714. 

The University of Winnipeg is located on Treaty One Territory and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis, in Wiiniibak, Manido Abi. We acknowledge these are the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anisininew, Ininiwak/Nehethowuk, Oceti Sakowin/Dakota Oyate, and Michif (Métis) Peoples. This territory is also a place of significance for the Denesuline and the Inuit, some of whom have been living here for generations.

Serving as stewards since time immemorial, Elders and First Nations have highlighted that these ancestral lands remain unceded and that the Treaties are agreements to share, not surrender, the land. Remembering the original spirit and intent of the treaties can serve as a foundation to better all our relationships.

We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation (Shoal Lake 39 is also impacted) in Treaty Three Territory, and that most of our hydro-electricity comes from Treaty Five Territory in northern Manitoba. Through the land, we recognize our connection and commitment to working with the Red River Métis, all First Nations Peoples across Turtle Island, and the Inuit of Canada.

As an academic institution, we have a responsibility to build and nurture relationships with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit and strive to respect, value, and incorporate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in our curricula and classrooms, in the research we conduct, and in our governance. As individuals, we have a responsibility to listen, learn, and grow on our paths towards truth and reconciliation.

As such, our land acknowledgement is not meant to be static but, rather, may shift, expand, and deepen as we continue to learn and nurture our relationships.

Please take a moment to listen to a short address by the late Honourable Murray Sinclair. A former member of the Canadian Senate, lawyer, and the first Indigenous judge appointed in Manitoba, Murray Sinclair served as chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 2009 to 2015.